Mind Games
by eorocks
Summary: Elliot and Olivia are dealing with a horrific case when someone starts playing mind games, leaving the two to wonder if the two are related and just who is behind it. Takes place late S9/early S10.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Well, I've been having a bit of writer's block, which has really thrown me. This story was based on a rough outline I had put together a while back, so we will see how it goes! Let me know your thoughts. This takes place late in Season 9/early Season 10. Not quite canon as Elliot is divorced. Thanks!

EOEOEOEO

Olivia kicked the door to her locker closed after she had grabbed a change of clothes. She made a mental note to replenish her supply as she made her way to the showers. The long days this past week were killing her, and she had worked through everything in her locker. Everything except for her workout clothes. She hadn't had time to use those at all.

She locked the door to the shower room behind her, and started to peel off her wet clothes. They had found another victim…the fourth woman in eight days…and she had been standing in the rain for the better part of the past two hours. She was chilled to the bone.

Olivia pulled her sweater off and saw the blood stains on the front. Olivia stood and stared at them for a moment, reliving the moment they had found the woman…still alive. The poor woman has been beaten, raped and stabbed, and she had reached weakly for Olivia as she leaned over her. But it was too late.

Victim #4 was dead just a few minutes later.

Olivia let out a sound of frustration as she balled up the sweater and threw it angrily in the trash. The white tank she had been wearing beneath had a large pink stain, and she felt tears of fatigue and frustration snake down her cheeks as she tore it off and threw it on top of the sweater. She whipped off the rest of her clothes, still shivering, and started the water in the shower. She shifted her weight between her two feet with her arms wrapped around her, waiting impatiently for the water to warm. As soon as it felt warm enough, she slipped behind the shower door and closed it behind her.

The hot water sluiced down her skin, and Olivia lifted her face to the water, letting it wash away the tears that were flowing freely now. She was frustrated with this case…four women assaulted and two of them dead. She was frustrated with her partner…he wanted her to take a break…get some rest. But how could she?

The attacks were happening at a frightening pace.

They had to push forward.

Olivia was finally beginning to thaw, and she tried to put thoughts of the case out of her mind. She needed just a few minutes to breath. The shampoo and conditioner in the shower were hers…one of the benefits of being one of the few women in the squad room…and she was shampooing her hair when she heard a sound in the shower room. Olivia froze.

"Hello?" She called out.

There was nothing but silence, and for a second, she thought she had imagined it. Then she heard another sound, and she swiped the soap out of her eyes.

It was late at night. There was barely a soul in the precinct. Elliot, Fin and Munch were the only ones that knew she was up here.

"Elliot?"

Still no answer, and now she was getting pissed off. She opened the shower door a crack and peered into the room, prepared to give Elliot a piece of her mind for intruding on her space. Only he would be bold enough to come in here.

But no one was there.

Her eyes scanned the small room again, but there was nowhere to hide. The room was empty. Her eyes landed on the door, which was standing slightly open, and she knew she hadn't been imagining it. Someone had been in there.

Olivia ducked inside the shower and quickly washed the shampoo out of her hair and the soap from her body, cursing at whoever had decided to invade her privacy. She didn't know why she couldn't have one damn moment to herself.

When she slipped from the shower, Olivia grabbed a clean towel and wrapped it around herself, tucking an edge between her breasts. She pulled a second towel of the pile and dried her hair, trying to get as much water out as possible. When she had towel-dried it as best she could, she dropped the towel and braced her arms against the counter.

God, she looked like hell.

Olivia reached for her stack of clean clothes, but stopped short when they weren't where she had left them. She looked to her left, thinking maybe she hadn't remembered where she put them, but they weren't anywhere on the counter.

 _Goddamnit! Where were her clothes?_

Olivia heard a noise out in locker room, and she strode quickly to the door, pushing it open a little more so she could duck her head around it and see into the locker room while she hid her body behind it. But the room was empty.

 _What the hell?_

Olivia turned back to the shower room, but her clean clothes were nowhere in sight. She shook her head, snagged her phone from the counterand dialed Elliot's number. He answered on the first ring.

"Liv?"

She heard the question in his voice. "Damn it Elliot. This is not funny." She said…practically yelling into the phone. "I am not in the mood."

"OK." He said confusedly. "Mood for what?" He asked.

"Just get up here." She said, ending the call.

Elliot burst into the locker room barely a minute later. "What's wrong?" He looked around the room and saw Olivia standing just outside the shower room door. He couldn't help his eyes from wandering as he stared at her for just a minute longer than he should have…all that bare skin was throwing him off.

"Elliot!" She snapped, and his eyes flashed up to meet hers.

"What?" He tried not to sound guilty.

"This isn't funny."

Elliot shook his head, and furrowed his eyebrows slightly. "I wasn't laughing." He was really confused now. He thought she was calling him out for checking her out, but he certainly hadn't laughed. There was nothing funny about a barely clothed Olivia Benson standing in front of him. His eyes glanced down to the knot tucked between her breasts…

Elliot shook his head and scrubbed a hand over his face. This was not the time for that. It was never the right time for that. She was his partner…

"Elliot!"

He looked back at her and could see her eyes flashing. She was really angry, and this time, he had no idea what he had done to cause it. They were both exhausted, physically and emotionally, and he really wasn't in the mood. "What? Why are you yelling at me?"

"What did you do with my clothes?"

Elliot pressed his lips together and furrowed his brows again. "Liv, I don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm not in the mood for practical jokes." Olivia snapped. She was so annoyed as Elliot stood there with a perplexed look on his face, as if he had no idea what she was talking about.

"Olivia." Elliot said, and there was an edge to his tone. He didn't know what the hell she was talking about and he was way too tired to try to figure it out. "I don't know what you're accusing me of, but whatever it is, I didn't have anything to do with it."

Olivia watched him cross his arms across his chest and widen his stance a bit. He gave her a look that let her know he was about at the end of his rope as well, and she realized that she had been crazy to think it had been him. He wasn't one to play practical jokes, especially when he was as exhausted and stressed as she was. "Someone came into the showers while I was in there…" her voice trailed off. She had assumed it was Elliot because he was the only one she could think of that would dare invade her privacy like that…but even that was odd for him.

Elliot straightened up. "What d'ya mean someone came into the room?" He was on full alert now and he took a few steps towards her. "What happened? Didn't you lock the door?"

Olivia just stared at him. "Nothing happened. I mean, they didn't talk to me or even say anything. For a second, I thought maybe someone came in to use the room and then realized it was in use but…I locked the door El. I know I did." Everyone that worked there knew if the door was locked than the room was in use…off limits. They wanted to avoid any embarrassing situations.

"Are you sure?" Elliot asked.

Olivia nodded. "100%." She furrowed her brows together. "And when I got out of the shower, the door was left open…just a few inches…but it was open." If someone had honestly made a mistake, they would have closed the door behind them. "And my clothes are gone."

Elliot screwed up his face. "Who would want to steal your clothes? You're sure they're not there? Or in your locker?" He made a move towards the shower room, and he could see Olivia was annoyed, but she stepped out of the way so he could enter the small room.

Olivia followed him in and watched as he looked around. He pointed to the pile on the floor. "What's that?"

"My wet clothes." Olivia said, picking up her pants off the floor.

"Where are the rest of them?"

"I threw my sweater and my tank in the garbage." Olivia said, looking in the garbage bin. "They're still there." She stood up and looked at the pants. "But…"

Elliot stopped and turned to look at her. "But what?"

"My underwear and bra…they were on the floor with these pants and they're not there either."

"So, someone broke into the room, stole your clean clothes, and the underwear you'd just taken off?" Elliot asked, trying to make sure he understood what had happened. "That's crazy."

Olivia nodded. "I know it sounds crazy, but that's what happened. It had to be someone with a key. They were quiet. I barely heard a sound, especially with the water running."

"Who would do that?" Elliot asked, leaning against the counter.

"I don't know! That's why I called you. At first I thought maybe you were playing a prank on me…"

Elliot cut her off. "Hardly my style."

"I know, I just couldn't think of who would come in here while I was in here."

"Well, it wasn't me. Or Munch or Fin. We've all been in the squad room with Cragen."

"Well, whoever it was it's not funny." Olivia said. "And when I figure it out, they're going to hear about it."

"I don't like it." Elliot said. Even if it was meant to be a joke, he didn't like the idea of someone actually going into the shower room while Olivia was in there. It crossed several boundaries, and when they figured it out, he was going to do more than talk to them.

"Don't turn it into a big thing." Olivia said. She could hear the protectiveness in his voice, and she was almost sorry she had called him. "Just some stupid prank." She rolled her neck. After almost ten years on the force, she shouldn't have to put up with juvenile shit like this, but sometimes it happened. Especially to a woman in what was viewed as a man's world.

"I'm not turning it into a thing." Elliot said, even though he had no intention of letting it go like she was. "Get dressed. Cragen wants an update and then wants us to catch some sleep." He walked out into the locker room and then hesitated, not wanting to leave her alone.

Olivia walked over to her locker and opened it up. "I don't have anything to wear except my workout clothes."

"It's fine." Elliot said. "We're just giving Cragen a briefing and then I can run you home. You need to catch a few hours of sleep anyway."

Olivia sighed. "OK." She didn't really want to stand around the squad room dressed like that, but she didn't have an option. She looked over at him standing about ten feet away. "Are you going to stand there and watch me get dressed?"

Elliot flushed slightly at the thought…unbidden images crowding his mind. "No. I just…" he turned around. "I'm just going to wait for you."

"El." Olivia said. She wanted to tell him she was just fine. But if she was being honest, the situation had made her slightly uneasy, and she didn't mind him waiting until she could get dressed and get her gun back on her hip. She glanced back over at him to make sure his back was really turned, remembering how his eyes had trailed over her body when he had walked into the locker room. His perusal of her had surprised her slightly. She had witnessed the occasional stare if she wore something revealing for an undercover op, or was dressed for a date, but never this kind of open appraisal. It confused her because they were close…closer than partners should probably be. But they had maintained a level of professionalism between them. She certainly kept her long stares and indecent thoughts in check.

Well, most of the time.

She wondered how she would have reacted if she had walked in on Elliot with a towel wrapped around his waist.

"You ready?" Elliot asked, startling Olivia back into action.

"Not quite." She dropped her towel and reached for her workout bag. She set it on the bench and unzipped it, finding a pair of athletic shorts, a sports bra and a thin t-shirt. "Christ." She muttered under her breath. She could only imagine the comments from the guys. She dug around but didn't find any underwear tucked away. She pulled on the pair of shorts down her hips as much as possible. But even then, they were well above mid-thigh. She pulled the black sports bra over her head and struggled to get the piece of spandex in place with her damp skin.

"Problems?" Elliot asked with a chuckle, and Olivia realized she was being vocal while she was getting dressed.

The last item was a thin white t-shirt, and she realized you'd be able to see her sports bra through the material. "El, do you have a sweatshirt I can borrow?"

"Maybe." He honestly didn't know what he had in his locker. "Can I turn around now?"

Olivia let out a sigh. "Yeah." She was waiting for him to make a smart comment, but he didn't say a word as he walked towards her, and his locker.

He climbed over the bench and opened his locker, digging around in the pile of clothes. "I don't see…." He stood up suddenly with a blue NYPD hoodie in his hand. "I just have this." He held it up to his nose and took a sniff. "I think it's clean."

Olivia wrinkled her nose. "That's disgusting." She said, but she grabbed it out of his hand. Unless it reeked, it was better than parading down in her shorts and t-shirt. She pulled it on and zipped it up.

"Now it looks like you don't have any clothes on." Elliot said, noticing that the length of the sweatshirt reached down to where her shorts ended.

Olivia rolled her eyes and she shoved her feet into her running shoes. "Can we just get back to work please?" she said in her most annoyed voice.

Elliot stepped back over the bench and extended his arm in the direction of the door. "After you."

EOEOEOEOEO

Olivia had weathered a few comments from Munch about her unprofessional attire, but Cragen shut them down, anxious for an update. He ordered Elliot and Olivia to get some sleep after that, despite their protests, and they agreed to be back in four hours. Normally, they would just sleep in the cribs, but Elliot had offered to drive her home to pick up some clothes, and she gladly accepted.

Olivia pulled her gun and badge out of her desk drawer, and shoved them in her purse. With her shorts on, she had nowhere else to put them, and it annoyed her. She fished around for her keys, but couldn't feel them. She sat back down in her chair and peered into the drawer, moving around the mix of personal stuff stored there. After a few minutes and some sounds of exasperation, she sat up and looked at Elliot. He was standing next to his desk, waiting patiently…maybe impatiently…for her to gather up her things.

"What's the problem?" he asked.

"I can't find my keys. Do you have them?"

"Why would I have your keys?" Elliot asked, showing her his own keys in his hand. "Wait a minute…" He came around and grabbed her purse. "You're sure they're gone?" He turned Olivia's purse over and dumped the contents on her desk.

"Elliot!" Olivia persisted as he dug through her things. She felt a small blush in her cheeks when he picked up her pack of birth control pills, and she grabbed them angrily out of his hands. "Do you mind?" She shoved them back into her purse, along with the lip gloss, aspirin, tampons and other things he had so unceremoniously dumped out. "They're not in my purse. I don't put them in there because they're hard to find."

Elliot didn't say anything, slightly annoyed that _she_ was annoyed. He had a wife and three daughters; did she really think he didn't see those things on a daily basis?

 _Ex-wife_ he reminded himself.

Olivia grabbed her purse off the desk. "Maybe I forgot them at home."

"Liv." Elliot said. "Someone stole your keys. That's how they unlocked the door to the showers."

Olivia sat down hard. Now she knew how tired she was, because she hadn't put those two things together. "You think?"

"You locked up your apartment this morning, didn't you?"

Olivia nodded. "But why would someone steal my keys? They couldn't have known I was going to take a shower. I didn't know I was going to take one. And why steal my clothes?"

"Someone's messing with you." He knew she was right. The person that stole her keys wouldn't have known she was going to still be here, which means they wanted them for another reason…to get into her apartment. It was the only logical reason.

"They have the key to my apartment." Olivia said, her thoughts mirroring Elliot's. "But why? I'm a cop for Chrissakes. I don't own anything valuable. What could I have that they could possibly want?"

Elliot felt a small chill at her words, because she was right. She didn't own anything anyone would want…or at least would go to this much trouble for. Which meant this could be personal, and the only thing that sprang to mind was that the perp wanted to hurt her in some way.

Olivia jumped out of her chair. "I need to get home."

Elliot grabbed her arm, halting her progress. He dropped it as soon as she turned to look at him. "Hold on." He said.

Fin and Munch were out of their chairs, having listened in on the conversation.

"What's goin' on?" asked Fin, and Olivia explained what had happened in the locker room and showers. "I'm gonna call a locksmith to meet you over there." He said, picking up the phone. "We need to change those locks A.S.A.P."

"He's probably already been there." Olivia said. She tried to run through her possessions in her mind, but besides some jewelry from her mom, and her television, she really had nothing of any value.

"Liv." Munch said. "Fin's right. We need to get the locks changed. And we should send a patrol car over in case you've been robbed."

Elliot was glad Fin had suggested the locksmith and that Munch agreed. If he would have suggested either of those things, she would have rolled her eyes at him and told him to stop being so overprotective. "I'm going with her." He nodded towards John. "Go ahead and send the uniforms over and they can meet us there."

Olivia thought they were probably overreacting, but she knew her squad. They were like family and they cared about each other…watched out for each other. There was no way any of them were going to let her go to her apartment by herself. "Fine." She acquiesced.

The first few minutes of the ride to her apartment were quiet, with Olivia trying to move her legs in a way that didn't make her shorts ride high up on her thigh. She wore these shorts to the gym almost every day, so she didn't know why it bothered her to wear them around Elliot. Maybe it was just the fact that he'd seen more bare skin today than he'd seen in nine years and it just seemed...seemed…

She didn't know what it seemed, and she let out a sigh.

Elliot glanced over at Olivia, and saw her fidgeting in her seat. "Something wrong?"

"I'm fine." She said quickly…too quickly. "I'm just annoyed." She said, trying to refocus her thoughts. "This is ridiculous."

"What's ridiculous?"

"All this." She said, waving her arms. "My own personal escort to my apartment. The uniforms." Olivia paused. "I'm armed you know. I know how to take care of myself." When Elliot didn't respond, she pushed on. "Whoever this guy is, he's probably already been to my apartment, ransacked the place, and taken what he wanted."

Elliot honked the horn. "Get out of the way jackass." He yelled, motioning at the driver in front of him. He glanced back over at Olivia. "C'mon Olivia. This guy's messing with you and you know it's better to be safe than sorry." He still couldn't shake the feeling of uneasiness, and he didn't like Olivia's cavalier attitude when it came to her own safety.

Olivia looked out the window, watching the city go by. "Fine."

When they reached her apartment, the patrol car was already waiting outside. Olivia didn't appreciate the spectacle, but she supposed she should be happy that the lights weren't going. It was after midnight, and she didn't need the entire neighborhood to know her business. They already had a love/hate relationship with her in the building.

Olivia let them in the front door, but Elliot pushed ahead of her as they reached the stairs, and the two uniformed officers were behind her. They made an unlikely parade down the hall, and Elliot put up a hand when they reached her door.

Olivia rolled her eyes. He was being a bit dramatic as he inspected the door.

"No sign of forced entry." Elliot whispered as he turned his head to look at her.

"He had a key El." Olivia said sarcastically. "Can we just get on with this?" She was tired, and she wanted to get this over with and get some sleep.

Elliot used the key he had and opened the door of the apartment. He opened it slowly, with his hand on his gun. He pushed his way inside, but her apartment was dark. He fumbled around for the light switch, but Olivia pushed in behind him and swiped the lights on. The light illuminate the small foyer and threw light into the living room and kitchen, and nothing seemed to be disturbed.

Elliot walked farther into the apartment and turned on a lamp in the living room. The room was bathed in light, and Olivia looked around. The TV was still in its' place, and everything seemed to be where it belonged. Olivia let out a breath she didn't even know she'd been holding, and she realized she had been more worried than she had let on. The idea of having a stranger in her apartment bothered her more than she thought.

"It's OK." She said. "He hasn't been here."

"Not so fast." Elliot said. He nodded towards the bedroom. "We need to check the other rooms." He forged ahead, but came back out a few seconds later. "Doesn't look like anyone's been here." He furrowed his brow. "Unless you made your bed this morning?" The bed looked slept in and he hoped someone hadn't let himself in and done something disgusting in her bed.

Olivia shook her head. "I haven't slept here in days, but the last time I left, no. I didn't make the bed."

"OK then."

The two uniformed officers were standing awkwardly in the doorway, and Elliot thanked them and told them they could go. The locksmith turned up about fifteen minutes later, and Olivia wondered how much Fin or Munch had promised them to show up so quickly. She was glad and would happily repay them. She wanted to get the lock changed and get to bed.

"How long will this take?" She asked.

"Twenty minutes, give or take."

Elliot moved a little closer to her, and she jumped when she heard his voice in her ear. "While were waiting, you may want to check and make sure nothing is missing in your room. You know…like more clothes or …."

Olivia moved away slightly, and turned to face him. "OK, but El, you can go home. I'll just let this guy finish up and then I'm going to get some sleep." She yawned, as if making her point.

Elliot shifted uneasily on his feet. "I was thinking that maybe I'd just crash here." He glanced over at the couch. He didn't feel comfortable leaving her, even with the change in locks. Maybe he was being overly cautious, but as he'd said, better to be safe.

"El…" Olivia started to protest, but after all these years, she knew him well. He was feeling uneasy, and in his role as her partner, he wouldn't leave. His took his role as her backup seriously. "I'm too tired to argue with you. If you want to sleep on my lumpy couch instead of your own bed, knock yourself out." She went into her bedroom and came back minutes later with a set of sheets, a pillow and a blanket. "Here you go."

The locksmith was checking the keys in the lock. "I'm done." He said. He handed Olivia a small clipboard and an invoice, and she grabbed the pen clipped to it and signed. The locksmith handed her two keys and left, and she locked the door behind him.

Olivia turned and saw Elliot unfolding the sheet, prepping his makeshift bed. "Elliot." He looked up as she walked over to where he was standing, and she held out one of the keys. "Do you realize that in all the years you've had an extra key to my apartment, you've never had to use it?"

"Thank God."

Olivia nodded. "Night El." She said softly.

"Night."

It took seconds for Olivia to fall asleep once she fell into bed, and when her alarm went off four hours later, she could barely believe she'd gotten any sleep at all. She groaned as she turned the alarm off and snuggled into the covers. She wasn't ready to get up…she needed at least eight more hours of sleep. A few seconds later, she heard a quiet knock on her door, and jumped. Then she remembered Elliot had slept on her couch, and she sat up, pulling the blankets up before she told him to come in.

"I brought you coffee." He said, walking into the room with a mug in his hand.

"I didn't even know I had any coffee."

"Yeah, well, I don't know how good it's going to be. Looks like maybe it's been there for a while." He said, handing her the mug.

Olivia gave him a small smile. "A girl could get used to this." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she wished she could take them back. It didn't sound as she had intended, but Elliot didn't seem to notice. She changed the subject. "Did you get any sleep? You know you didn't need to stay here. This is all blown out of proportion. Someone just thinks they're being funny."

Elliot shrugged non-commitally. "Maybe." He hoped that was true, and this was the end of it. They needed to focus on this case, and he didn't want Olivia to be dealing with this kind of mindless harassment. "Hey, we need to get going." He said. "And we need to stop at my apartment so I can take a shower and get changed."

"So, get my ass out of bed?" Olivia said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Well, yeah." He smiled. "I'll wait in the other room."

Olivia climbed out of bed and headed into the bathroom. She reached behind the shower curtain and started the shower, and then got undressed. She still had her eyes half closed when she got into the shower, and she let the hot water run over her body, trying to shake the fatigue from her body. She took a step back and reached for the body wash, but then she froze.

"Elliot!" She yelled. "Elliot!" She yelled a little louder. Olivia stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel just as Elliot tore into the bathroom.

"What?" He saw Olivia wrapping a towel around herself as he stopped barely a foot away from her. "What's wrong?" He had heard an urgency in her voice…a bit of panic.

"I found my keys." Olivia said, feeling a little embarrassed at how she had screamed out his name. She had just reacted without thinking.

Elliot peered into the shower and saw a shower caddy hanging inside, full of shampoo and body wash. And dangling from one of the hooks were Olivia's keys.

Someone _had_ been in her apartment.

That changed this from a harmless prank to something more serious.

He pulled back and looked at Olivia. "Get dressed." He said. "We need to call Cragen."


	2. Chapter 2

_AN: I'm glad people seem to like the story! Thanks for your reviews and comments. I had Chapter 2 ready to go, just in case people like the story, so here you go._

EOEOEOEOEO

Olivia had filled Cragen in on the latest as Elliot hovered over her shoulder. She didn't like the fact that someone had been in her apartment, but so far, it had all been harmless. Elliot and Cragen were talking about past cases and possible scenarios, but Olivia stood up and interrupted them. "Listen, we have a rapist and murderer stalking women, so can we get back to our case? That's a lot more important than someone playing some harmless mind games."

"Olivia, hold on." Cragen said. "We don't know what's going on, so I don't want to dismiss this yet."

"I'm not asking you to dismiss it. I just don't want to waste any more time." She moved around the chair and headed towards the door. "El, we have work to do."

Elliot looked back at Cragen and saw the Captain shrug slightly. "I won't let her out of my sight." He said as he turned and watched Olivia's retreating figure. He let out a sigh, knowing that Olivia didn't have any compunction about risking her own personal safety when she was helping others. Olivia was already at the board, looking at the crime scene photos, when Elliot sidled up next to her.

"Don't start El." Olivia said. She knew Elliot was going to start in on her about why she shouldn't take this lightly. She heard Elliot let out a sigh beside her and she dropped her head between her shoulders. Then she straightened up and turned sideways to face him as he stared at the board. "Listen. I'm not ignoring this. It bothers me that someone was in my apartment. That they were in the shower room when I was in there…"

Elliot turned to face her. When that incident had first happened, he had written it off more as an annoyance; they were focused on the theft. But now...now that he knew someone had been in her apartment, it really hit him. "He could have assaulted you. You were up there alone..." The thought of it made him nauseous.

Olivia put a hand on his arm. "But he didn't." She reminded him. She watched Elliot's face and saw that he wanted to say something else, but was trying to censor himself. "I'm not just going to blow this off. I'll be careful. But we need to work the case. I don't want there to be any more victims because I was too worried about myself to do my job." She let her hand slide down his arm and rested it on the console next to his. She bumped her shoulder into his, trying to lighten him up. "Besides, I know I don't have to worry with you watching my back."

Olivia gave him a crooked smile and Elliot relaxed slightly. He opened the file in front of him. "OK, let's go over this again."

EOEOEOEOEO

They went over and over the details of the case, and wove in the new information Fin and Munch brought in from a morning of interviewing people related to the assault of their last victim. They had worked through lunch, ordering in Mexican food, but now that it was almost 6, Olivia found she was hungry again.

She tossed her pen down on her desk. "I don't see any connection between these women. I have pored through everything. They aren't similar in any way. They all work in different fields. They live in different areas. Two were married and two are single. They don't even look like each other except for the dark hair. But one had short hair…one had red streaks in hers." She leaned back in her chair and laced her hands behind her head. "He has to be picking his victims at random."

"I've gone through every interview…every witness statement…every video of the surrounding area. Whoever this guy is…he's good. He's like a ghost." He slapped the file on his desk closed. "Nobody saw anything. No DNA." Elliot scrubbed his hands over his face. "I don't even know where to go from here."

"We can't give up. He could be stalking his next victim right now."

"Detective Benson?"

Olivia turned and saw a uniformed officer walk in with a large manila envelope in his hand.

"Someone delivered this for you." He said, handing it to her.

"Hold on." Elliot said, pushing himself out of his chair and intercepting the envelope.

Olivia rolled her eyes as he turned to the uniform.

"Who delivered it?" he asked.

The uniform shrugged. "I don't know. Desk Sergeant just asked me to run it up."

Elliot picked up the phone as the uniform walked out of the squad room, calling downstairs. He peppered the desk sergeant with questions, but obviously didn't get the information he wanted as he slammed the phone down.

Olivia plucked the envelope from his hand. "We get stuff delivered all the time." She said. "We were waiting for results from the ME, and this could be it." She ripped the envelope open and looked inside, and then dropped the envelope on her desk.

Elliot saw her pale slightly, if that was even possible. "What is it?" he asked as he picked up the envelope. He looked inside and saw something crumpled in the bottom. He turned the envelope on its side and the item slid farther towards the opening and Elliot realized it was a pair of black panties. He looked over at Olivia. "These are yours?"

"I think so." She said and her voice cracked slightly.

Elliot looked around and saw no one was paying attention, and he dumped the contents on Olivia's desk. It was a pair of black satin and lace underwear and he knew by the look on Olivia's face that they were hers. He furrowed his brow slightly. "Why would they send you the underwear they stole?" He asked. He picked up a pen and used it to lift the panties off the desk, turning them back and forth. Typically, if they saw something like this, the underwear had been ripped up or slashed, or there was evidence that someone had used them to pleasure themselves. But this pair didn't appear to be touched.

"Those aren't the underwear they stole." She said, and now Elliot was really confused.

"What? I thought you said they were yours."

Olivia nodded, almost imperceptibly. "They are." She said, her voice almost a whisper. "Those are the underwear I took off this morning, before I took my shower."

EOEOEOEO

Olivia was sitting in Elliot's apartment, and it felt strange. Elliot's divorce from Kathy had been final for about six months, and even though his new apartment was less than a mile from hers, she had never been here. A least not inside.

The relationship between the two of them had always been complicated. A couple of years back, they had been wandering in uncharted territory…trying to maintain the bounds of professionalism. But Gitano had almost broken them, and she had left him twice. It had taken awhile to work things out when she had come back, but about the time she felt like they had finally gotten back on solid footing, he had dropped the bombshell on her. Kathy was pregnant. Watching him going back to Kathy…moving home…had been incredibly hard for her. She snapped back quickly though, cutting off all thoughts of anything changing…the what if's…

Things had stayed that way, even when he told her his divorce was final. She had made sure of that. They were partners.

She kept having to remind herself of that every once in a while. At times when things started to get too comfortable again. She had to remind herself that even when he was separated from Kathy before, he had gone back to her. Eli was proof of that.

Olivia looked up as Elliot walked into the living room, holding two beers. "I don't know if it's necessary for me to stay here." She said, for at least the fifth time since Elliot had insisted.

"We changed the locks on your apartment, and he still got into your apartment somehow." His bet was that someone had paid off the locksmith.

"How do you know that he doesn't know where _you_ live?" Olivia asked, taking a drink of the beer Elliot had given to her.

"Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't." He said, sitting at the opposite end of the couch. "But I feel better being having you here. Why make it easy for him?"

"Easy for him to do what?" Olivia asked. "He hasn't actually threatened me."

"Not directly. But he wants you to know that he's in control. That he can get at you any time he wants." Elliot said, practically interrupting her. That's the thing that bothered him the most…the mind games were worse than an outright threat. You never knew what was coming next.

Olivia was silent as she took another drink. "I'm not going to hide." She said. "We have a job to do."

"I know. But until we figure this out, you're stuck with me. 24/7."

"Elliot, that's ridiculous." She knew that arguing with him was somewhat pointless, but sometimes she had to remind him that she could take care of herself. "I have the same training as you. I'm a better shot. I can run faster than you."

Elliot placed his hand over his heart, as if she were wounding him. "You're killing me." He said, but then he leaned forward. "I know all of that. But if anyone wants to get to you, they're going to have to get through me first."

Olivia wanted to argue with him...to tell him that she would rather die than have anything happen to him. But she knew the conversation was over for the night, and she hoped it wouldn't come to that. "Well, at least I don't have to sleep on the couch." She said, shifting slightly. "This thing isn't very comfortable."

"Well, I have news for you. Your couch wasn't very comfortable either."

"I don't think it's so bad." She said.

"Sleep on your couch much?" Elliot asked. As soon as he said it, he saw the expression on her face, and realized she did. He wondered about that. Why sleep on the couch when you had a perfectly good bed to sleep in?

Olivia shrugged and looked down at the beer that was resting on her knee. "Sometimes I can't sleep…" She lifted the bottle to her lips and took a long drink.

Elliot felt horrible after she said that. For years, he had gone home to his family, finding comfort after a long, horrible case. She went home alone. "I'm sorry."

Olivia shook her head. "It is what it is."

"I wish…" He didn't know exactly what he was going to say. There were so many things he wished were different. "I should have…" He let out a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry." He said again, feeling like he had let her down again.

"El…just…" Olivia pressed her lips together. "We aren't keeping score. We've both said things…done things…that we'd change if we could." She knew he still harbored feelings of resentment towards her for running off to Oregon. She didn't want to dredge all that up.

"Yeah." Elliot got up and went into the kitchen, plucking two more beers from the fridge.

"Are you sure the kids aren't coming over this week? I don't want to kick them out of their room." Olivia said, as he handed her the beer.

"Nah. They aren't supposed to be here until this weekend. I'll call Kathy and tell her it's not going to work." He said. It was Wednesday night…he doubted things would be resolved by Friday.

"I don't want you to…"

Elliot held up a hand. "Liv…" He saw the objection die on her lips as he slumped back down on the couch. He watched as she lay her head on the back of the couch and closed her eyes, and he watched her for a moment. "Want to go to bed?" he asked.

Olivia's eyes flew open and she turned her head to look at him. "What?" She stared at him with her eyes wide and her mouth open. "What did you say?"

"You have a dirty mind Detective." Elliot teased and he saw her face flush. He hadn't expected that reaction, and it threw him a little. Could it be that sometimes she had the same errant thoughts as he did?

"Right." She said, trying to cover her blunder. "I was just half asleep. I didn't hear what you said." She shifted on the couch. "And no, I'm not ready to go to bed."

"I thought you didn't hear what I said." Elliot saw her give him a dirty look, and he decided it was probably wise not to push her. They sat in silence for a few minutes, drinking their beers. "Do you ever wonder…"

Olivia turned her head again, never lifting it from the couch. She wondered what the hell he was going to say, and she held her breath as he fumbled with his words. She could tell he wasn't sure how to ask whatever he had on his mind. "Just say it." She said.

"You were engaged at one time, right?" he asked. That fact had slipped out during one late night stake-out, but he never really heard the whole story.

"Yeah."

"What if you would have gotten married?"

"I was 16. He was 21. It wouldn't have worked."

"He was 21? We arrest 21-year-olds for having sex with 16-year-olds." He said.

"You're assuming I had sex with him." Olivia said. She saw Elliot grimace, and she let him off the hook. "It's fine. I did." She sighed. "I think about that now…" She left that thought there. "I was just trying to get away from my mother. And no, I never think about how my life would have been different. Even if we would have gotten married, I probably would have been divorced by 17, and then I still would have gone to college and to the police academy."

"All roads lead here?" Elliot said.

"I guess." Olivia said. She leaned forward and set her empty beer bottle on the coffee table. She folded her legs beneath her and turned her body slightly, so she was facing Elliot. He was peeling the label off his beer bottle. "Do you ever wonder…"

"Just say it." Elliot said, mimicking her earlier comment.

"Do you think you would have married Kathy if she hadn't gotten pregnant?" She knew it was a horrible question to ask. Admitting it would mean he was denying his children, and he would never do that. She saw him look up at her and he seemed to consider her question.

"I don't know." He said. He could see the surprise on Olivia's face, and he had to admit, he was surprised himself. "I love my kids Liv…."

Olivia shook her head and put up a hand to stop him. "I know El. I know you do. I shouldn't have asked you."

"I think about it sometimes. But I know I still would have joined the NYPD."

"All road lead here, huh?"

Elliot nodded. "Liv…" He looked at her for a minute without saying anything. "Sometimes I wonder…"

His words were cut off by Olivia's phone. It beeped loudly, signaling an incoming text message. Elliot seemed relieved at the interruption, and if Olivia was being honest, she was too. She didn't think she wanted to hear what Elliot was going to say. She didn't know how they'd gotten to this point…they were never open and honest like this. She reached for her phone and looked at the screen.

"It's from an unknown number." She said, looking back up at him.

Elliot nodded. "Open it."

 _Roses are red. Violets are blue. You think ur safe. But I'm watching you._


	3. Chapter 3

An: Thanks for all the overwhelming support for this story! That makes me so happy!

EOEOEOEO

"Son of a bitch." Olivia said, pushing herself up off the couch. Elliot snatched the phone from her hand and read the message.

 _Roses are red. Violets are blue. You think ur safe. But I'm watching you._

He looked up at and saw Olivia had crossed the room and was looking out the window. Her head moved back and forth, as if she was scanning the street. He leapt off the couch and rushed over to her. "Are you crazy?" He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her away from the window. "Get away from the window."

Olivia stumbled backward as he pulled her back into the room, and Elliot's arm pulled her tightly against him to keep her from falling. Olivia's fingers dug into his arm, and he let her go.

"Don't grab me like that!"

"Well, you can't stand in front of the windows!" Elliot's adrenaline was pumping. When he had seen her standing in front of the window, he'd had a horrible vision of a bullet ripping through the glass and her falling to the ground, and it shook him to his core.

Olivia was about to snap back when she saw the look on Elliot's face. He looked…scared. "El…" She reached a hand out towards him, but froze when she heard the phone beeping again. Her eyes met Elliot's and held them for a second before they dropped to his hand.

"Where's the phone?" She asked.

"I dropped it." He looked down and scanned the floor, but he didn't see it.

Olivia dropped down on the floor and fished around under the coffee table until her fingers met plastic. She grabbed the phone and stood up, looking down at the screen. Elliot stood behind her, peering over her shoulder as she opened the message. It took a couple of seconds, but she could tell it was a photo as it started to load slowly on the screen. She let out a small gasp when she realized it was a photo of her…taken only seconds ago as she stood at Elliot's window.

"Fuck!" Elliot said harshly as he grabbed the phone from her hand again. He lifted his arm, ready to smash the phone against the wall, but Olivia caught his hand before he could.

"Don't! We're going to need TARU to look at my phone!"

Elliot let out a huff and let her take the phone from his hand. "If I ever get my hands on this son-of-a-bitch…" He didn't finish his thought because he only had murder on his mind right now. He looked at Olivia, staring at the photo on the phone. "How can you be so calm?"

"I'm not calm." She said, using her fingers to zoom in on the photo. "I'm pissed off." She leaned forward, really scrutinizing the photo. "There's no way to tell how far away this was taken." She peered over at the window; she really wanted to take another look, but she knew she needed to stay away from the window. For her own safety and Elliot's sanity.

"Well, I guess it's safe to say he knows you're here." Elliot pulled his phone out of his pocket. "I'm gonna call Cragen."

Olivia put her hand over his, stilling him. "It's late. We've all been putting in a lot of hours, including Cragen. There is nothing anyone can do tonight."

"We need to move. Change locations." He said, shaking her hand off and pulling up his phone contacts.

"Where are we going to go? He's obviously following me. We may as well stay here."

Elliot seemed to consider what she said, and he reluctantly nodded. "Yeah, I guess. But we need to let Cragen know what's going on and get TARU working on your phone…"

Olivia put a hand on Elliot's arm. "El…I'm exhausted. You're exhausted. It can wait until morning."

"I need you to take this seriously Olivia." Elliot said. "How many women have you talked to that are being stalked? What would you tell them?"

"I'm not being stalked." Olivia shook her head. "This is just someone trying to…"

"Trying to what?"

"I don't know. Mess with my mind. Annoy the shit out of me. Distract me from what I'm doing." Olivia turned to Elliot. "Maybe this _is_ related to our case."

"I don't see it. We're both working on the case, so why target you?" Elliot shook his head. "My bet is that it's someone from your past. Someone you put away or…" He looked back and forth between her eyes. "You have a jilted lover or boyfriend out there somewhere? Someone that didn't take it very well when you broke things off?"

Olivia rolled her eyes. "I barely even have time to date, so not likely."

"The operative word being barely." Elliot said. He really didn't have any idea if she dated or not. She kept that information to herself these days. But regardless, it was still a viable scenario. "It doesn't have to be anything recent. This could have been building up for years."

"You're reaching." Olivia said.

"Well, _someone_ is stalking you. We shouldn't rule anything out."

"Stop using the word stalked." It made her feel like a victim, and she hated that. It had taken many therapy sessions to work through her victimization at the hands of Harris and she didn't plan on letting anyone make her feel like that again.

Elliot could tell he had hit a nerve. "Fine. He conceded. "But I still think we need to call Cragen and give him an update."

Olivia knew he wasn't going to let it go. "OK." She put up a hand. "On one condition." She paused for a second. "I'm not running. We're staying here."

EOEOEOEO

Two hours later, they had filled Cragen in, reached an agreement to stay put, and given Olivia's SIM card to a uniformed officer to deliver to TARU. The Captain had agreed that it could be related to a past case, and they developed a game plan for the next day. Olivia had objected, not wanting to take any focus off their current cases, and pointing out that she hadn't actually been threatened. But she had been overruled. They had agreed that she and Elliot would stay on the case with Fin and Munch's support, and a couple other detectives would start digging through her files and pull out anything that seemed pertinent for her review.

"I need to get some sleep." Olivia said, brushing her hair back from her face as Elliot hung up the call.

He stared at the phone sitting on the coffee table; he'd had his cell on speakerphone so they could both listen and talk. He wasn't happy about how things had been decided. He had wanted a patrol car sitting outside the apartment, but Cragen had conceded that point to Olivia. "Yeah, you get some sleep." He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep, despite his exhaustion.

Olivia started down the short hallway towards the bedrooms, but stopped and turned when he didn't follow. "You're not going to sleep?"

Elliot shook his head. "I'm too wound up." He saw the look on her face, but he didn't give her a chance to tell him he needed to rest. "I just need a few minutes." She gave him a skeptical look, but headed back down the hallway.

Elliot sat down in an oversized chair and dropped his head in his hands, and ran through everything that had happened since this started. Olivia was right…nothing had been an outward threat. Except for the text. _You think_ _ur safe_ implied that at some point, she wouldn't be.

Over his dead body.

This guy had no idea who he was messing with.

There wasn't a chance in hell he was going go to let anything happen to Olivia. If anything happened to her, he wouldn't be able to bear it. Olivia was…

"Elliot?"

He jumped when he heard her voice, and when he looked up at her, he saw concern on her face. Almost as if she had read his mind.

"I didn't mean to startle you." She said, moving towards him. "Are you OK?"

He stood up. "Yeah. I just…" He had an almost irrepressible need to pull her to him, and hold her close. As if he could protect her with his body…keep everyone else out. It took everything in him not to. "I'm just tired." He furrowed his brow. "Is something wrong? Did you get another message?"

"No. No." She quickly assured him. "I just want to take a quick shower. Is that OK?"

"Sure. My place is yours. You don't need to ask."

"I just need a towel. I didn't want to go digging through your closets."

Elliot put a hand on her lower back and turned them towards the hallway. "I'll show you where everything is."

Olivia noticed that Elliot kept his hand on her lower back as they walked down the hall; his behavior was completely out of the ordinary. They had made an art form out of keeping their personal contact to a minimum. But the events of the past 24 hours had been anything but ordinary…and she found that she really didn't mind.

Elliot stopped outside of a small closet in the hall and opened the door. He pulled out two towels and told her to hold out her arms. He placed the towels there, and then pulled out a bottle of body wash and shampoo and set them on top.

"I didn't peg you as a man that used vanilla and lavender scented body wash." Olivia teased.

"I have daughters." He said by way of explanation, and Olivia smiled.

"I know. I just couldn't resist." She watched as Elliot moved around other things in the closet. He placed a washcloth on top of the stack, and an unopened toothbrush. Olivia saw as his hands lingered on a disposable razor and she saw a slight flush creep into his neck and he left it there. He straightened up. "If you need anything else…just dig around in here. I probably have whatever you're looking for."

Olivia smirked. "Sounds good. But I brought my own things with me." She motioned into the bathroom. "I just needed a towel." She thought it was cute how Elliot was trying to be a good host. It wasn't something he was probably used to doing.

"Yeah, OK. Just let me know if you need anything else."

"I did forget a robe. Did any of the girls leave one here?" She asked. Honestly, at home, she never worried about it. One of the benefits of living alone. But after Elliot's stares when she'd been covered in nothing more than a towel…

"Just use mine." Elliot said. "It's hanging on the back of the door."

"You wear a robe?" She asked with a laugh. She couldn't picture Elliot coming out of the shower, and walking around his apartment in a robe. He seemed like the kind to walk around in his briefs.

"I have daughters." He repeated with a smirk, and walked back down the hall.

Elliot walked back into the kitchen, and wanted to get himself another beer. Just thinking about Olivia, naked in his shower…her nude body wrapped in his robe…was giving him thoughts he shouldn't be having. Especially right now. _Christ._

He wanted a beer.

He grabbed a bottle of water instead. Now was the time to keep a clear head.

Elliot leaned against the kitchen counter and drank half the bottle. He needed to get his baser thoughts under control. He and Olivia…they had a relationship that defied definition…and he had been thinking about it more and more since his divorce was finalized. At one point, when he was separated before, he had considered telling her that she was so much more to him than a partner and a friend. But he had been a coward and things spiraled and then…she left him.

There was a part of him that had never recovered from that, and he had been scared ever since. He had been careful to keep his feelings under wraps, worried that she'd leave him again. Having Olivia as a partner was better than nothing.

But tonight, he had seen a vulnerability in her. And when she asked if he would have married Kathy, his heart had stopped. Was she trying to tell him something?

He heard a noise and pushed himself off the counter. He saw Olivia standing at the end of the hallway where it adjoined the living room, his robe wrapped tightly around her. Her wait hair was curling gently around her shoulders and she didn't have any make-up on and in that moment, he thought she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

He realized he must have stared a moment too long because she shifted uncomfortably on her feet, and his eyes moved back to hers.

"I just wanted to tell you thanks. You know…for letting me stay here…" She fiddled with the sash on the robe. "And for letting me use your robe."

"It looks good on you." He said, and he saw a slight flush on her skin. He chided himself internally. What a stupid thing to say.

"Yeah, well. Thanks." She hesitated for a second. "Get some sleep, OK?"

Elliot nodded. "Night Liv." He said softly, and watched as she turned and walked back down the hall.

EOEOEOEO

Elliot awoke with a start, and found his heart was racing. He wondered what had woken him up, and realized he heard yelling from Olivia's room. He snagged his gun off the nightstand, and flung his bedroom door open. He hit the hallway light as he pushed open the door to the extra bedroom, and he saw Olivia on the bed. She was tangled in the sheets and she was fighting something…someone…as she kept yelling no. Elliot rushed over to the bed and set his gun down on the nightstand. He grabbed her hands with his and tried to calm her…to wake her.

"Olivia." He said, trying to get her to wake up. "Olivia." He said a little louder, and he held both of her hands with one of his while he grasped her shoulder with the other. "Liv!"

Olivia's eyes flew open and she struggled against him, still half dreaming. "No!" she yelled as she tried to pull her arms from his grasp.

Elliot let her go immediately. "It's OK. It's me. It's Elliot."

Olivia scrambled backwards on the bed, trying to put some distance between her and him, and he could see she was shaking her head, still trying to shake of the remnants of her nightmare. When she had her back to the headboard, she blinked a few times rapidly and he could tell things were coming into focus.

"Elliot?" She scanned the room. "What are you...?" Her voice trailed off as a question.

"I heard yelling. You were having a nightmare." He said.

Olivia looked around the room again, and settled back on Elliot. She was so embarrassed. She hadn't had a nightmare in a long time; at least one that she could remember. "I…I'm sorry."

"God Liv, you don't have to be sorry." Elliot stood there awkwardly, now acutely aware that he was standing in her room in his underwear, and that she was only wearing a white tank top and white panties. He looked away, but he didn't want to leave her.

Olivia saw Elliot look away, and she pulled the blankets up to cover herself. "I didn't mean to wake you."

Elliot's gaze swung back to her and he felt a sense of relief and a small sense of disappointment to see she had bunched the blankets up in her hand. "Liv. Stop. You had a nightmare." He pressed his lips together, wanting to ask her what her horrible dream had been about. "Do you have a lot of those?"

"I used to." She admitted, surprised by her own honesty. "But it's been awhile."

"Probably all the stress of that last few weeks." Elliot watched her and saw a small nod. "Do you think you're going to be able to go back to sleep?"

Olivia nodded again, knowing there was no way in hell she was going back to sleep. In the past, on nights like this, she would be up watching old movies or sitcoms until it was time to get ready for work.

Elliot held out his hand. "C'mon."

Olivia looked at his outstretched hand and then back up at him. "Where are we going?"

"Let's go find an old movie or something to watch. Take our mind off all this." He saw the strange look on her face, and he knew this what exactly what she did when she had nightmares before and he took a small measure of pride in the fact that he knew her so well. He dropped his hand and looked around, spying his robe on the floor. He snatched it up and lay it on the bed. "I'll meet you out there."

When Olivia got out to the living room, she saw Elliot standing there, flipping through channels on the remote control. He had thrown a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants on, and she wrapped the robe a little tighter around her own body. He turned and gave her a small smile as she settled on the end of the couch.

"Here's something that should put us to sleep." He said as he set the remote down. He sat down on the other end of the couch, and patted the spot next to him. "Come on. Lie down and stretch out your feet." He grabbed a blanket off the back of the couch, surprised when she complied. He lifted her feet and put them in his lap, and made sure she was covered with the blanket.

Olivia looked over at Elliot as he turned his attention to the black and white movie on the screen. He shifted on the couch and stretched his legs out on the coffee table while he lay his head on the back of the couch. He had his hands on her feet, just resting them there lightly, anchoring him to her. He glanced over at her and gave her a smile. "Go back to sleep and don't worry. I've got you."


	4. Chapter 4

_AN: Wow! Just wow! The reaction to this story has been fantastic! Thank you for all the support and comments. Here we go!_

EOEOEOEOEO

Elliot opened his eyes slowly when he felt Olivia stirring. He winced at the stiffness in his neck as he looked over at her. He realized she was still asleep; she had just been shifting in her sleep. Looking back at the TV, he saw the movie was over and another was on, but it was still dark in the room. His legs were stiff and he knew he couldn't sleep here for the rest of the night, but he really didn't want to wake Olivia. The debate about moving or staying lasted less than a minute as he lifted one leg off the coffee table and bent his knee, biting back a groan as the pins and needles set in. He sat still until he had feeling back in his legs, and then lifted her legs as gently as he could and slid out from underneath.

Elliot considered his options. He didn't want to leave her out here alone, and he didn't want to wake her. But if he carried Olivia to bed, she'd most likely kill him. It was, however, the best option of the three, and he leaned over her and slipped his arms beneath her and lifted her off the couch. She protested in her sleep, but she was dead out, and he said a small thank you that she didn't wake up. Once he had lay her gently on the bed, he pulled the covers over her and retreated, closing the bedroom door behind him as he made his way back to his bedroom.

His last thought as he drifted off the sleep as that he hoped she wouldn't read him the riot act for carrying her to bed.

EOEOEOEO

Elliot looked over at Olivia as they stood by the board and listened to the updates from Cragen. He had been surprised this morning, at his apartment, when Olivia hadn't said anything about waking up in bed when she had fallen asleep on the couch. She had been up when he wandered out of his bedroom, and she had been dressed and ready for work. They were running late, and had a pretty quiet ride to the precinct…there was no mention of any of the personal things they had discussed the night before, Olivia's nightmare, the late-night movie, or how she got into bed.

For some reason, he felt disappointed by that. It was as if it hadn't happened.

When Cragen was done with the updates, which were disappointingly few, he motioned for Olivia and Elliot to join him in his office. Elliot closed the door behind them, but Cragen didn't waste any time.

"We traced the messages and the photo that were sent to Olivia's phone." He picked up a piece of paper. "The phone belongs to a woman name Amanda Jackson." He paused for a moment. "I'm going to have Fin and Munch pay her a visit, and I don't want any arguments."

"Captain, please let us do the follow up." Olivia said. She didn't look over at Elliot; she had a feeling he was shooting her a dirty look.

"Didn't I just say I didn't want any argument?" Cragen said sternly. "You're not following up on your own stalker."

Olivia tensed up at the term again, but she held her comment.

"Besides. Fin and Munch are already gone." Cragen continued.

Olivia clenched her jaw to keep herself from commenting. Cragen had obviously given them their marching orders before she and Elliot had arrived.

"I want you two to follow up with the surviving victims. See if they remember anything new."

"We've already spoken to them." Olivia said.

"Well, as you know…" Cragen said pointedly. "Sometimes victims remember things after they'd had a little time to process. And we're at a dead end right now with the information we have."

"We're on it." Elliot said, glancing over at Olivia. He started to move when Cragen spoke up.

"While you're gone, I have Officers Morrison and Hunt digging through Olivia's cases. I have them looking for anyone that made any kind of threat, and anyone you put away that's been released in the last 6 months." He looked at Olivia. "Anyone stand out that would be nursing a grudge?"

Olivia shook her head. Lots of those she put away were angry, but there really isn't anyone that sprang to mind.

"Any ex-boyfriends…" he started.

"No." Olivia said, cutting him off. "There's no one I can think of."

Cragen nodded. "OK. Well we will see what they come up with." When Elliot and Olivia didn't move right away, he added. "Dismissed."

EOEOEOEO

Elliot and Olivia got back to the precinct about 1:00, disappointed that they didn't learn anything new, but thankful they hadn't gotten a call about a new victim while they were out. Olivia saw Fin was at his desk, and she made a beeline for him.

"What did you find out about Amanda Jackson? Does she have a husband or a son that could have sent the messages? Have you checked the system and pulled up their record? Have…"

"Hold up Liv." Fin said, putting up his hands. "Let me get a word in."

Olivia let out a huff. "Fine."

Fin was shaking his head. "It was a dead-end Liv. Amanda Jackson is a 45-year-old ad exec. No husband, brothers or sons. Her iPhone was stolen out of her purse at the market about 2 weeks ago."

"Damn it." Elliot said, beating Olivia to it. "That was the first real lead we had."

"He's been careful up to this point." Olivia said. "I didn't really expect it to lead anywhere."

"I guess it was too much to hope for." Elliot said.

Cragen nodded in agreement. "Hunt and Morrison are making a list, and I don't know how much progress they've made, but you can check in with them after lunch." He headed off to his office, but then paused and turned back to face them. "But understand…you can't do any of the follow-up yourselves."

"Understood." Olivia said.

"Let's go grab a bite." Elliot said, nodding his head towards the doorway.

Olivia shook her head. "Let's order in. I want to see what they've found." She sat down at her desk, signaling the end of the discussion. She picked up her cell phone and dialed their favorite deli, ordering for both of them. When that was done, she pushed herself up and she and Elliot walked into the file room, where Morrison and Hunt were busy at work.

EOEOEOEO

"You have to give them a little time." Elliot said as they walked out of their meeting with Morrison and Hunt. "They've only had a few hours." He knew Olivia was frustrated by their lack of progress, but he really hadn't expected them to get very far in such a short time.

"I know." Olivia said, brushing her hand through her hair. She stopped when she saw their food on her desk. "Thank God. I'm starving." She sat down and opened up her chicken salad, taking a quick bite. She let out a small moan and then looked over at Elliot, hoping he hadn't heard her. By the smirk on his face, he had. "I was hungry."

Elliot shook his head and looked down at his food, a small smile still on his face. "I didn't say a word."

Olivia looked over at Fin and Munch's desk, but they were out. She looked back at Elliot and lowered her voice anyway. "Yeah, but you wanted to." She said. She knew she was playing with fire…opening herself up to anything he wanted to say.

Elliot looked back at her and pressed his lips together. There were so many thoughts running though his mind right now…and it was on the tip of his tongue to say something, especially with how things had gone last night. He felt like they'd broken through some kind of barrier…but they probably weren't ready for him to put a voice to what was in his head. Especially not here.

Olivia raised an eyebrow, surprised that he hadn't fired back with a comment. She finished off her lunch and tossed it in the trash. "Chicken." She said, as she stood off and headed off to the bathroom, never looking back.

Elliot finished his lunch with a smirk on his face. He had been surprised by Olivia's comment. The challenge in her voice. He wondered how the conversation would have gone if they hadn't been here in the precinct. He saw Olivia walk back into the squad room and reclaim her seat.

"So, what do you want for dinner tonight?" he asked.

Olivia flicked her eyes up at him. "Dinner?"

"You didn't think you were going back to your apartment, did you?" He readied himself for an argument.

Olivia hesitated for a moment, remembering everything that happened last night at Elliot's. It hadn't been anything major, but it had definitely been…something. She was a little nervous about what another night together might bring, but she knew she didn't want to spend the night alone in her apartment. Not that Elliot, or Cragen, would let her anyway. "No. Of course not."

"That's not happening until we figure this thing out." Elliot said firmly, waiting for Olivia to object to his overbearing manner, but she still didn't say anything. He looked down at the messages on his desk. "Maybe I can rustle up some chicken salad." He chuckled to himself, and then dared look up to see the reaction on her face.

He was surprised to see no reaction on her face at all. She was staring at him, a strange look on her face, and he furrowed his brow. "Liv?" She didn't move and then suddenly, her head dropped back, as if she had lost the ability to hold it up. Elliot stood up. "Olivia?"

Olivia felt herself sliding out of her chair, and she tried to catch herself but she couldn't seem to move. She saw Elliot out of the corner of her eye as he flew around the desk and she felt his arms catch her before her head hit the floor. He was leaning over her now, but she couldn't seem to move…to control her limbs. She couldn't talk but she saw the concern in his face.

"Olivia!" He leaned over her, one hand next to her head as his other hand grasped hers. "Talk to me. Tell me what's happening!"

Olivia closed her eyes, trying to focus, but she couldn't seem to figure out how to answer him.

Elliot looked down at Olivia as she closed her eyes and he shook her slightly. "Stay with me!" He turned and yelled at the officers and other detectives that had gathered around. "Call a bus!"

"One the phone now." Elliot heard someone say.

"What the hell is going on?" Cragen said and Elliot looked up at him.

"I don't know." Elliot said in a panic. "She was sitting here at her desk and then she just slumped to the floor. She's conscious but she's not answering me." Elliot turned back to Olivia. "Liv. Can you hear me?" He saw her eyes move to his and he knew then that she understood what he was saying. "Hold on." He said, brushing her hair back from her head. "Bus'll be here any second."

Elliot moved to slip his arm under her neck.

"Don't move her." Cragen advised. "We don't know what we're dealing with here."

"I don't want to leave her on the floor." Elliot objected.

"EMT's will be here any second." Cragen said.

Elliot looked back down at Olivia, bringing their clasped hands closer to his chest. "You're going to be OK." He said softly, despite the commotion surrounding them. "Just focus on me Liv. Just focus on me."

The EMT's arrived a few minutes later and Elliot was forced to the perimeter. He watched as the EMT's took Olivia's vital signs and looked into her eyes. He heard a sound to his right, and saw Olivia's phone beeping with an incoming message. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, and he snatched the phone from the desktop. He opened the message and read it two times before he handed it to Cragen.

 _Ashes, ashes_

 _They all fall down._

EOEOEOEOEO

Elliot, Cragen, Fin and Munch were all standing in the waiting room at the hospital, waiting for an update from the doctor. It had been almost an hour since the ambulance had arrived with Olivia inside, Elliot by her side.

"There." Elliot said as the doctor strode towards them.

"Is Elliot Stabler here?" he asked, and Elliot raised his hand. The doctor looked at the others, but once Elliot told him it was okay to go ahead, the doctor started reciting the facts.

"We got the lab results back and Ms. Benson wad drugged with a high dose of Rohypnol."

"The date rape drug?" Fin asked and the doctor nodded.

"It rendered her unable to move, but luckily, she retained consciousness. The dose she was drugged with could have been more debilitating, but we've got her hooked to an IV. We'll try to flush it through her system, but it will take several hours to wear off."

"So, she's going to be OK?" Elliot asked. A part of him couldn't believe what the doctor was saying.

The doctor nodded. "There won't be any lasting side effects, except for potential memory loss. We'll release her in a few hours." He walked away and the rest of the team circled around.

"How the hell did this guy slip Liv a roofie?" Fin asked.

Elliot shook his head. "I don't…" He stopped. "Wait a second. Her lunch. From the deli. Olivia had an iced tea. He must have slipped it in there."

Cragen looked at Fin and Munch. "You two. Head back to the precinct. Bag Liv's garbage and get video footage of everyone coming into the building from…" he looked over at Elliot.

"I think Liv called about 1. Or 2." Elliot said. He couldn't remember.

"I'll just pull anything after noon." Fin said.

"And pull video from the day that envelope was delivered." He let out a heavy sign. "We need to put an end to this." He pointed a finger at John. "And you…light a fire under Hunt and Morrison. I want a list on my desk when I get back."

Fin and Munch took off, and Cragen turned to Elliot. "You call me when you leave here with Olivia. Don't let her out of your sight."

"Not a chance in hell."

EOEOEOEOEO

Olivia was exhausted when the doctor told her she was released. She watched Elliot hovering by the door, and he walked over when the doctor left her with the discharge papers.

"Ready to go?"

"Yeah." She said quietly, but she stayed sitting on the bed. "I'm tired."

"Let's go back to my place and you can go straight to bed."

Olivia sat quietly. "I'm not just tired. I'm tired of all this bullshit. I can't do my job if I have to keep looking over my shoulder."

"We're going to get this guy." Elliot said.

"I just don't understand what this guy wants. If he wanted me dead…" She pressed her lips together. "He's had plenty of opportunity to kill me."

"Don't say that!" Elliot said sharply, as if her words would make something terrible happen.

"Everything he's done so far hasn't been…I mean, he hasn't really hurt me. It's more of an annoyance."

"It's more than that Liv. He's scaring the shit out of me. The thought of something happening to you is…unbearable."

"We live with that threat every day Elliot." It was one of the reason partners were so close. No one could understand what it was really like to put your life in someone else's hands…every day. To trust them so completely with your well-being. Olivia reached up and cupped his cheek with her hand. "I'm fine Elliot." She said softly.

"Liv." Elliot covered her hand with his. "There's only a few times in my life that I've been scared…really scared."

"Nothing's going to happen to me." Olivia rushed to reassure him. "As long as I've got you by my side."

Elliot gave her a little smile. "Just try to get rid of me."


	5. Chapter 5

_AN: I'm sorry for the delay in updating. You may have to go back to Chapter 4 and read it again to see where the story left off before._

EOEOEOEO

"Elliot." Olivia said, glancing over at Elliot in the driver's seat. "I want to go to the precinct."

"It's late Olivia." Elliot said. He glanced at his watch as he slowed and then stopped at the red light. "It's almost 10."

"I can't go home when this guy is still out there. I want to go to the precinct and see what they've found. Help dig through the files." She tucked her hair behind her ear. "I'm done with this."

"I don't think that's the best idea…" Elliot started as he started driving again.

"Just take me to the precinct." Olivia said tiredly.

"Cragen isn't going to be happy to see you." Elliot knew that if they showed up at the precinct, Cragen would most certainly send them home. He had been clear that he should take Olivia home.

"Damn it El. Either take me to the precinct, or drop me off and I'll get a cab."

Elliot glanced over at Olivia and saw the set of her jaw, and the way her lips were pressed together, and he knew she meant every word she said.

"Fine." he said. "But why don't you at least give him a call." He ventured, thinking the precinct was probably pretty empty at this time of night. Olivia didn't say anything, but he saw her pull out her cell phone and assumed she was making the call as he suggested.

"Captain." There was a pause. "I'm fine." Olivia let out a sigh. "Cap'n." It sounded like she was interrupting whatever he was saying. "I…"

Olivia was quiet again, and Elliot glanced over at her as he turned the car in the direction of his apartment. She was listening intently, and didn't seem to notice the change in their course.

"OK." Olivia said and let out another sigh. "I understand." Another pause. "I said I understood." Olivia said sharply.

Elliot looked over at her again, surprised at her tone, and then he heard her apologize and thank the Captain before she hung up the call. He waited for her to fill him in, but she was silent, just staring out the front windshield. He waited for a few minutes and was just about to say something when she spoke again.

"Cragen said there have been six men released in the past 6 months. Variety of charges. Two were arrested by me and Fin, and the other four were arrested by you and me." Olivia said, repeating the information that Cragen had given her. "Fin and Munch are following up. Hunt and Morrison are still looking for threats made, but none of these six made any overt threats. I doubt someone with a beef is orchestrating this from prison, but they're going back through every case from the past three years."

"And Cragen told you that you're supposed to leave the follow up to them." Elliot said, guessing at the rest of the conversation.

"Yeah." Olivia said, looking out the window on her side of the car.

"You knew he wouldn't let us be involved. We talked about that before." Elliot said.

Olivia looked back at Elliot. "It's just so…"

"Frustrating." Elliot finished.

"I don't like running and I don't like hiding." Olivia said. "I just want to _do_ something."

"We'll get a good night's sleep, let the effects of that drug wear off. And then we'll go in tomorrow and help dig through the files. Even if Cragen won't let us talk to anyone, he can't object to us reading through the files and databases."

Olivia didn't say anything.

"OK?" He knew she was still feeling some effects from the Rohypnol. She had already confessed to being tired at the hospital and he just wanted to get her home, make them something to eat and have her get some sleep.

"OK." Olivia said begrudgingly, just as Elliot pulled to the curb and stopped the car. "Why are we stopping?"

"I just need to pick up a few things." Elliot said, motioning towards the small bodega in front of them. "Dinner." He opened his car door, and looked over at Olivia. "Come on."

Olivia leaned her head back on the head rest and turned her head to look at him. "I'm just going to stay here."

"Liv."

Olivia was ready for his objection and she cut him off. "Nothing's going to happen to me sitting in the car." Elliot just stared at her, the challenge in his eyes. "I'll lock the doors. I won't leave the car. I won't talk to strangers. I won't eat anything." She tried to make light of it. "C'mon. You're going to be two minutes. You said I need to rest."

"Fine." Elliot said, against his better judgment. "Anything special you want for dinner?"

"Anything that _you_ can cook." Olivia said.

EOEOEOEOEO

"Liv!" Elliot said, knocking on the bathroom door. "C'mon. You've been in there for almost an hour." He knocked again. "You OK?"

"It hasn't been an hour. You exaggerate." Olivia said as she whipped the bathroom door open. She took a step back when she saw Elliot leaning in the doorway with his arms braced high up on the doorframe. She was struck with how he filled up the space in the doorway...his t-shirt stretched across his chest.

Elliot smiled at her, taking her in as the steam from the bathroom swirled around her. Her face was scrubbed clean and her hair was clipped back. He could smell lavender and vanilla…and something else he couldn't identify. She was wearing white and gray striped pajama pants and a black tank, and the soft gray long sleeve t-shirt she had pulled over it was loose and hung off one shoulder. Even though she had taken a step back, she was close and he stared into her eyes. He dropped his arms lower on the doorframe so they were waist high. "Your almost worse than my daughters." He said quietly, leaning in slightly.

"Then you should be used to it." Olivia said, and her voice was muted as well. "Since you have three of them." There was a slight tease in her voice and she wanted to blame it on the fact that Elliot was so close…too close. When he had dropped his arms, he had moved marginally closer to her and her eyes drifted from his…to his mouth…to his chest…and back up again. She could see something in his eyes.

 _Want._

She felt a quickening in her belly at the realization.

Elliot had seen the way her eyes had drifted down to his mouth, and he knew he could kiss her and she wouldn't stop him. He watched as she parted her lips slightly, and he noticed a slight change in her breathing.

God, she _wanted_ him to kiss her.

Her eyes were locked with his and he leaned forward a little more, his mouth mere inches from hers.

"Liv." He rasped out her name. He didn't know if he was asking her permission or pleading with her to stop what shouldn't be happening. He shouldn't be taking advantage of her vulnerability right now.

Olivia's eyes were focused on his lips, and the timbre of his voice sent a shiver through her body. "Yes." She whispered. The answer was yes…whatever the question.

Her surrender made him weak.

It would be so easy to lean in and capture her lips.

But it would be so wrong. She was under attack…someone was stalking her…she was recovering from a visit to the hospital. He regained his senses and tamped down his desire. It was up to him to do the right thing here.

Elliot pulled back slightly and he saw the confusion on Olivia's face. "I want…I…" He swallowed hard, at a loss for words. He felt like he owed her an explanation but he could see her start to collect herself. The moment was past. "Liv." He said finally, hoping she understood.

Olivia nodded quickly, trying to comprehend what had just happened.

"Dinner's ready." Elliot said lamely, nodding towards the kitchen.

Olivia needed space…she needed to figure out what just happened. "I just need a minute." She stepped back and closed the bathroom door just as she heard Elliot say her name again. She ignored him as she tried to rein in her emotions. She replayed the last few minutes in her head, wondering if she had misread the situation.

 _No._ She knew what she saw. Elliot wanted to kiss her, and she thought it had been pretty clear that she wanted him to.

Olivia leaned against the bathroom counter and pushed her bangs off her forehead. She knew why he didn't kiss her. It was for all the reasons nothing had happened between them over the years. At the end of the day, the line between professional and personal had to be maintained.

Elliot was trying to do the right thing.

 _Damn him._

EOEOEOEOEO

Dinner was breakfast. Scrambled eggs, sausage and toast. They sat in awkward silence, the only sound the clinking of silverware and the crunch of toast. Olivia kept sneaking surreptitious glances as Elliot, but he seemed completely focused on his dinner.

"I love breakfast." Olivia said finally, feeling the need to break the silence. "I never eat in the morning, so I rarely get this. Which is probably good because who needs the cholesterol and the calories but it's really hitting the spot." She shut up suddenly when she realized she was rambling, and looked back down at her empty plate. "I'll just clean this up." She was about to push herself up out of her chair when she heard Elliot.

"I'm sorry." Elliot said.

Olivia sat back down and looked back across the table at him. She kept quiet, not certain what he was apologizing for. For wanting to kiss her? For not doing it? Or for something completely different. His eyes flicked up to hers and she could see the conflict on his face…as if he didn't trust what he wanted to say.

Elliot saw the way Olivia was looking at him. Expectantly…nervously. He couldn't decide if it was better to say something about what had happened earlier, or if it would be better to leave it alone. He couldn't seem to find the right words. He didn't know how to tell her that she was absolutely the most beautiful woman he knew, inside and out. He didn't know how to tell her that he knew they were partners, but that over the last several years, he had thought about more and more about giving that up for a chance at a relationship with her. That he had tried…and failed…not to think about kissing her…about making love to her.

Elliot jerked his head up as Olivia stood up. He had waited too long, lost in thought and mired in his own indecision about what to tell her.

"I'm tired." Olivia said as she passed him, disappointed and a little bit relieved that he hadn't been able to find the words. She breezed by him, holding her breath slightly to see if he would stop her, but he didn't. She slid the dishes on the counter, and made a beeline for the extra bedroom…her temporary room.

"Night." Elliot said, but he was pretty sure she didn't hear him.

EOEOEOEO

Two days had gone by and Olivia was ready to jump out of her skin. She had no idea if the man that had been playing games was done with her…or if part of the mental cruelty was to drive her crazy wondering what he had in store for her…and when it would happen. Fin and Munch had checked on the six men that had been released. Three were already back in prison on parole violations, one had committed suicide over two months ago, and the other two had solid alibis. The guys had questioned them extensively, and believed they weren't involved.

Olivia and Elliot had both been helping to dig through files, and although there were several threats in the case files…most of them were harmless rants. Nothing that seemed credible. Despite that, they noted the more serious ones for follow-up.

Cragen walked out of his office and Olivia stood up, ready to give him an update. It was almost 10PM, and they had wanted to stay to get through the last of the files. But it had been a long day, and they were ready to get out of there.

Cragen started talking before she could. "We have another victim." He said with a sigh, and Olivia's heart sank. They hadn't any new leads…hadn't made any progress. And now there was another victim. "Good news is this one's alive." Cragen continued. "She fought back hard and pulled his mask off. She scared him off before he could really hurt her, and she got a few good scratches in too. Hustle over to the crime scene and then go to the hospital."

Elliot was up and they were out the door quickly, both discussing the fact that hopefully, they would have some decent evidence and could get a description of this rapist. The wanted him off the street. Now.

They chatted about potential avenues of investigation and how to proceed, with Elliot reminding her that they wouldn't be splitting up like they had in the past. It was really the first time in the past day and a half that the situation they were in…or Olivia was in…had come up. They had somehow managed to revert to Benson and Stabler, even though she was still camped at his apartment and that she could barely go to the bathroom without him following her. Still, they had successfully avoided anything of a personal nature, and they certainly didn't talk about the kiss…the almost kiss.

The ambulance whipped past them as they arrived at the crime scene, and they walked under the yellow tape that was holding back the onlookers and photographers. They both got an update from the officers that had been first on the scene, and he pointed out the various aspects of the crime. The 25-year-old victim had been out to dinner with friends. She hadn't been drinking, and had left the restaurant about 9 or so to meet up with her boyfriend. She had been walking down the street, looking at her phone, when someone had grabbed her and dragged her into an alley.

He continued to give them the pertinent facts, but Olivia was already wandering away to get closer to the spot in the alley where the attack had occurred. She wanted to hear the details first hand from the victim, and she knew Elliot would capture everything the uniform said. The CSI techs were all over and she tried to stay out of their way as she surveyed the scene…looking for something…anything.

Olivia headed back towards the spot where the alley emptied out into the street and she saw Elliot walking towards her…an annoyed look on his face. He was off to her right, waiting at the mouth of the alley and she braced herself for Elliot's tirade about her wandering off, when she heard someone call her name from the other direction. She looked left and saw a uniformed officer standing there. He yelled her name again, and then she saw as he lifted his gun and pointed it right at her. She froze…only twenty feet away from him. There was nowhere to go and she dove for the ground, but before she could roll and get her weapon drawn, she heard the gun go off…and in the next instant, as she braced for impact, she heard Elliot screaming her name.

AN: I'm sorry x 10. It's late and I want to get this posted…and who doesn't love a good cliffhanger? I'll update as soon as possible!


	6. Chapter 6

_Olivia headed back towards the spot where the alley emptied out into the street and she saw Elliot walking towards her…an annoyed look on his face. He was off to her right, waiting at the mouth of the alley and she braced herself for Elliot's tirade about her wandering off, when she heard someone call her name from the other direction. She looked left and saw a uniformed officer standing there. He yelled her name again, and then she saw as he lifted his gun and pointed it right at her. She froze…only twenty feet away from him. There was nowhere to go and she dove for the ground, but before she could roll and get her weapon drawn, she heard the gun go off…and in the next instant, as she braced for impact, she heard Elliot screaming her name._

The impact never came.

Olivia could hear the pandemonium around her…she heard people yelling…screaming…running…but it was muted background noise. The only voice she heard was Elliot's, and from the sound of his voice, she could tell her was getting closer. Olivia had her hands braced on the ground, and she looked to the left. She saw the shooter still standing there with the gun still trained on her. Olivia knew she had to move, but before she could even push herself onto her hands and knees, she felt the full weight of Elliot's body as he covered hers…just as the next shot rang out.

Now she was the one screaming, horrified that a shot meant for her had hit Elliot. She tried to push him off her…to shift his weight…but she was on her stomach and he had her pinned to the ground. She let out an anguished cry, wondering if he had been hit.

Olivia heard other voices, yelling _DROP IT_ over and over, and she knew she could still be in danger…Elliot was still in danger. She continued to fight against Elliot's body. She needed to protect him.

It was all happening so fast. She didn't know if the shooter was down…or if there were others. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if he got hit. His weight was crushing her and she tried to gasp out his name, but she couldn't catch her breath. Adrenaline was coursing through her and her heart was beating wildly, and just needed to know he was okay. That he was lying over her, bleeding from a gunshot wound.

Elliot could feel Olivia fighting against him as he tried to cover he completely, and it gave him hope that she wasn't hurt. His heart was beating wildly…when he had seen the gun trained on her, the fear had been sudden. Almost crippling. But he had run to her without thought for his own safety…acting on pure animal instinct. The need to protect her at all costs.

Elliot looked over and saw uniforms had taken down the shooter. He scrambled up on his knees. "Olivia?" He put his hand on her shoulder and rolled her over on her side, looking up and down her body. "Were you hit? Are you hurt?" He ran his hand down her arm and her side, running his eyes up and down her body. When his eyes met hers, he saw fear…sheer terror…and he knew she would see the same in his eyes. "Liv, talk to me. Are you hurt?" He rolled her over on to her stomach again, checking for carnage…blood…and then rolled her back, peering into her eyes. He could feel her body trembling and he wondered if she was in shock. She wasn't answering him. "Liv…"

"I'm fine Elliot." She rasped. The situation had sent her adrenaline sky high and she felt her heart beating out of her chest. Olivia could see Elliot staring down at her eyes, trying to make sense of her words.

"He was only 20 feet away…he had his gun aimed right at you…" He was choking out the words. He didn't know how the shooter had missed her, but he didn't see any blood.

"He missed." Olivia shook her head. She didn't know how he possibly could have missed. He had her dead to rights. She pushed herself into a sitting position, never taking her eyes from him. "Are you hurt?" she asked frantically. She saw Elliot shaking his head and suddenly, she felt angry. "You shouldn't have run into the line of fire!" Olivia pushed him hard against his chest. "You dumb son-of-a-bitch! What were you…" Her words were cut off as Elliot grasped her upper arms and pulled her against his body.

Elliot fell on his ass as he pulled her body against his, and he wrapped his arms tightly around her. She was half on his lap and half on the ground, but her face was pressed against his chest. He buried his face in her hair and rocked back and forth, feeling tears stinging his eyes. "God Olivia. I thought…I thought…" He couldn't even put words to what he was thinking…the thought of losing her was unbearable. When the shooter was standing there with his gun pointed at her…

Elliot let out an anguished sound and squeezed his arms more tightly around her.

"We're okay." Olivia whispered against his chest. She grabbed handfuls of his t-shirt, never wanting him to let her go. She knew they were both thinking the same thing…of a life without each other. No matter how this had played out, it would have been unbearable for the other.

"I couldn't bear it…" Elliot whispered against her forehead. "I thought…" He couldn't even bear to repeat what was going through his head. Suddenly, he remembered the shooter…the man that had caused this horrific scene. He released Olivia, and looked over at the cop that had taken the shots. He was down on the ground, being handcuffed. Elliot scrambled up, filled with a red, hot, all-consuming rage, and he ran towards the perp just as the man was being lifted to a standing position.

Elliot heard Olivia shout his name just as his fist connected with the perp's nose, and then he heard a satisfying crunch as blood gushed forward. The impact of his right hook had propelled the man backwards, out of the hands of the officers holding his arms, and Elliot was on him the instant he hit the ground. The cuffed man tried to roll to protect himself, but Elliot got in two more punches before he was pulled off him. He realized he had been yelling, and he turned his venom on the officers that were holding him back.

"He just tried to kill my partner! Why are you protecting him?" He tried to shake their hands from his arms but they held on firmly. Elliot watched as a couple of other officers helped the injured man off the ground and another called an ambulance, but the blood was still rushing through his ears…his pent-up rage not nearly spent.

"Elliot." Olivia said, as she rushed up to him. She placed a palm on his chest and she could feel his heart beating wildly. "What the hell are you doing?" She asked. His attention was still focused on the perp, and she put her hand on his chin to try to get him to look at her, but he was fighting her. Olivia looked at the two men holding his arms. "Let him go." She demanded.

"With all due respect Detective, we're not letting him go." One of them said. "He's just assaulted a suspect."

Olivia realized he was a Lieutenant from the 2-1, and had been the man they had introduced themselves to when they had arrived. She was about to argue when a sedan screeched to a halt near them, and she looked over and saw Cragen emerge from the passenger seat. She took a step back as the two uniformed cops released Elliot's arms.

"What's going on here?" Cragen said loudly as he reached them.

Olivia looked at Elliot and then back at Cragen, but Cragen wasn't looking at either of them anymore. He was looking at the man lying on the ground, bleeding.

Olivia's mind was reeling as she tried to process everything that had happened in the past few minutes. But before she could say anything, she heard Elliot.

"This asshole shot at Olivia." He said, his voice still laced with anger. "Two shots. I don't know how he missed her."

Cragen looked back at Elliot. "I wasn't asking you." He turned and looked at one of the uniformed cops standing near the suspect. He pointed at him. "You."

One of the men that had cuffed the perp stepped forward. "We heard one shot, aimed at the Detective." He pointed to Olivia as he said it. "By the time we realized where the shots were coming from, he had fired a second shot. He dropped the gun and tried to flee, but we had him surrounded and we took him down."

"Is that how he was injured?" The Captain asked, glancing over at Elliot and Olivia.

Olivia could tell that the Captain knew exactly what had happened. The blood on Elliot's knuckles and shirt were a dead giveaway. The uniform that had been reciting the facts to Cragen must have realized the same thing, because he told the Captain all that had happened when Elliot rushed over. That, and he didn't want to be accused of using excessive force.

"Captain." Olivia started. She wanted to say something in Elliot's defense but when she saw the look on the Captain's face, she knew he didn't want to hear it and she kept her mouth shut. They all turned as the EMT's arrived and they rushed to attend to the injured man.

"Lieutenant." Cragen said. "A word please."

"Captain." The Lieutenant said. "Your detective assaulted a suspect…"

"He isn't a suspect!" Elliot said angrily. "We have multiple people that saw him shoot at Olivia!"

"Not another word." Cragen said, looking pointedly at Elliot. He turned back to the Lieutenant. "I just want a word in private." He said and the man nodded. Both men walked over to the sedan and Olivia took the opportunity to move closer to Elliot.

"What were you thinking?" she hissed. She was so angry with him. Angry for running into the line of fire, and for taking out his rage on the suspect. Olivia glanced over at the two men talking and she could see how animated the Captain was and looked back at Elliot. "This is bad."

Elliot's jaw was set and he was shaking his head. She could still see rage simmering below the surface, and she wondered how far he would have gone if the officers hadn't pulled him off the suspect. The thought made her shiver slightly, and suddenly, she was exhausted. All the adrenaline had left her body and she felt shaky…sweaty.

Elliot furrowed his brow as he watched her. "Liv?" He could see she was struggling and he reached for her as her legs buckled. He caught her, and yelled for the EMT's.

Olivia shook her head and put her arm out. "I'm fine." She said, leaning over and bracing her arms on her knees. The EMT stood by her side, watching her as she took a few deep breaths. She was starting to feel marginally better as Cragen walked over and rejoined them, and she straightened up.

Cragen looked between Olivia and Elliot. "Both of you get checked by the EMT's, then go down to the 2-1 and give your statements."

Olivia wanted to ask if they were charging Elliot, but she didn't want to even bring it up.

Cragen continued. "Once you give your statements, go home." He must have seen the relief in Elliot's and Olivia's faces because he shook his head. "This isn't over." He said. "But we will deal with this tomorrow."

"But the rape case…" Olivia said.

"Fin and Munch are on their way."

EOEOEOEOEO

It was almost 2AM by the time they left the 21st precinct. Elliot had barely seen Olivia since Cragen left them. The cops at the 21st had purposefully kept them apart, and the entire time they had been questioning him, his only thoughts had been that he needed to make sure she was okay. But she had been strangely silent since they'd left, and he found he didn't know what to say to her either.

Maybe the car wasn't the best place to talk.

Elliot glanced over at Olivia and saw she had her head back against the headrest and her eyes closed. "You okay?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah." Olivia said, exhaling heavily as she said it.

Elliot pulled the car over and turned off the engine. They both sat still for a moment, staring straight ahead. "Liv, when I saw that guy with the gun…"

Olivia turned to look at him. "Let's not do this right now." She didn't think she could handle discussing everything that had happened right now. She felt on the verge of tears…and the last thing she wanted to do was break down in front of Elliot.

"We have to talk about it…I have to tell you…"

Olivia shook her head. "No." She said. "Please…" she whispered. She opened the car door and got out, slamming the door behind her.

Elliot let out a sigh and followed her into the apartment building. He didn't know if he could hold it together tonight…if he could keep everything inside tonight. He watched as she used her key to let herself into his apartment, and as he followed her inside, he was overwhelmed by just how close he had come to losing her tonight. He could be sitting by her side in the hospital…or identifying her at the morgue. "Olivia." He choked out. Olivia turned to face him and he walked slowly towards her…his eyes never leaving hers. "Today…I thought I lost you…" His voice was choked with emotion.

"Elliot." Olivia whispered…pleaded. She felt tears pricking at the back of her eyes.

Elliot was close to her now, and he reached out and cradled her right cheek with his left hand. He placed his right hand on her shoulder, and stroked her bare skin with his thumb while he stared into her eyes. "I prayed to God that you would be okay, and I promised myself that I wouldn't let another day go by without telling you that I love you." He didn't wait for a reaction from Olivia. He leaned in and ghosted his lips over hers. He closed the last space between them, and pressed his mouth against hers. He grasped her upper lip between his and tasted her…slowly…gently…before he covered her mouth with his again. His fingers slid into her hair and he grasped the silky strand. His other hand followed the outline of her body until it rested at her waist. Olivia was kissing him back now, and she opened her mouth to him, deepening the kiss.

Olivia was still trying to process what Elliot had said… and the fact that he was kissing her. Somehow, it was nothing liked she had imagined a kiss with Elliot would be…and everything. She could feel the tears streaming down her face now, and when Elliot released her mouth, she swiped at them.

Elliot could feel Olivia trembling and he wiped the tears from her face. "Don't cry." he whispered. He knew it was probably all the emotion and shock of the day catching up with her. "You're going to be okay." He cupped her face in his hands again, and looked into her eyes. " _We're_ going to be OK."

"You said you loved me." She whispered.

"I did." Elliot said softly, brushing her hair back from her eyes. "I do. I love you." He repeated.

Olivia reached up and trailed her fingers down his cheek. She pushed herself up on her toes and pressed her lips lightly against his. "I love you too." She whispered against his mouth. "I love you."


	7. Chapter 7

" _You said you loved me." She whispered._

" _I did." Elliot said softly, brushing her hair back from her eyes. "I do. I love you." He repeated._

 _Olivia reached up and trailed her fingers down his cheek. She pushed herself up on her toes and pressed her lips lightly against his. "I love you too." She whispered against his mouth. "I love you."_

Elliot wanted to kiss her again, but he could see tears brimming on her lower lashes, and he pulled her against his chest. He knew the last several hours had been emotional, on top of everything else that had happened in the past week. "Just let it go." He said as he pressed his lips against her forehead.

Olivia had been determined not to break down in front of Elliot, but there was no holding it back any longer. She started sobbing, and she wrapped her arms around his waist as she cried against his chest. She couldn't seem to stop, and after a few minutes, she felt Elliot scoop her up and carry her into his bedroom. Olivia didn't object as he lay her down in the middle of the bed, and she tried to get control of herself, gasping in deep breaths. Elliot handed her a wad of tissues, and then she felt the bed bow as he sat down on the bed. The next thing she knew, Elliot was lying down behind her. He wrapped an arm around her waist as he snugged his body against hers. The last thing she remembered before she drifted off to sleep was Elliot kissing her temple and telling her that he loved her once again.

EOEOEOEO

Elliot lay awake for a while after Olivia had drifted off. His mind was racing. The detectives at the 2-1 had grilled him about his retaliation against the shooter, but had refused to answer his questions with regards to his name or what precinct he was with. Elliot had filled them in on everything that had happened leading up the horrific events of the evening, practically pleading with them to give up the information they had…they had been hunting for information on this man and now he outed himself by deciding to attack Olivia at the crime scene. But the detectives refused, and told him that all information they obtained in their interview with the suspect would be given to the Captain Cragen. They also pointed out that they wouldn't be able to interrogate the suspect until he was released from the hospital…and that they had written a report on his attack on an unarmed, cuffed man.

Elliot sighed, and he felt Olivia stir. He held his breath, but she didn't wake.

He knew he was in deep shit if they decided to press charges. He could lose his job, his pension…hell, he could get jail time for assault. He inwardly cursed his lack of self-control, but there had been no thought when he had gone after him. The bastard had shot at Olivia and it had been pure instinct to strike out.

He wondered what Olivia was going to say to him when she woke up in the morning. She had been furious that he had run into the line of fire…just as he would have been if she had done the same thing. And he'd seen her face when he had gone after the shooter. None of it had come up tonight, but he wasn't foolish enough to think he had heard the last of it from her.

But he also knew that deep down, she understood. Especially now. Because lying behind the anger on her face had been fear. She knew she would have done the same.

Elliot didn't know when he had drifted off to sleep, but it seemed like it had only been minutes when he heard his cell phone ringing. It was still in his pants pocket, since he had climbed into bed fully clothed, and he tried to fish it out of his pocket without waking Olivia. But the combination of the ring tone and his movement woke her, so he took the call.

"Stabler." He rasped into the phone, his voice still thick with sleep. Elliot heard Cragen on the other end of the line.

"I need you and Olivia in my office this morning."

"What's going on?" Elliot asked. He didn't like the tone in Cragen's voice.

"I'm not going to get into it over the phone. How soon can you be here?" Cragen asked.

Elliot rolled over and looked at the clock, surprised to see it was already a little after 8AM. "We didn't get to bed until at least 3." He said. "Can you give us until 930?" He knew they needed showers, breakfast, and coffee.

"Just make it as soon as possible." Cragen said. "There's a patrol car downstairs. They'll be escorting you."

Before Elliot could ask him any questions, Cragen hung up the phone. Elliot climbed out of bed and walked cautiously over to the window. He stood to the side and looked down into the street. It took a second, but he found the patrol car parked two cars down from his.

"Elliot, what's going on?" Olivia asked groggily. She pushed herself up so she was sitting on the bed, and she quickly put her hand to her forehead. God, her head was pounding.

Elliot looked over at her and saw her holding her head. His concern spiked. "Are you OK?" The EMT's had checked her out, but maybe they hadn't caught something.

"Just a headache." Olivia replied quickly, noting his concern. She knew it was probably a mixture of the adrenaline from last night, all the crying, and a lack of food and water. "What did Cragen say?"

"He wants us at the precinct as soon as possible." Elliot said, glancing out at the squad car once more before he turned back to Olivia. "And we have a police escort."

Olivia furrowed her brows? "What? What's that about?"

"I have no idea, but I'm sure we'll find out."

EOEOEOEO

Nether one of them had mentioned any of their discussion from the previous night. Elliot had wanted to say something, but after her shower, Olivia had launched into a series of questions about his interrogation the night before and the shooter. She'd had a similar experience in her interrogation, and didn't know anything more than him.

"Do you think they're going to charge you?" She asked as she glanced at the patrol car falling behind them as their car pulled out on to the street. "Are they afraid you're going to run?" The police escort was confusing, and dread crept up her spine. She knew she shouldn't expect Elliot to get off easily; he had assaulted a suspect. But there were extenuating circumstances…

"I don't know." He said.

"You shouldn't have…" Olivia started.

"Don't." Elliot snapped at her. He knew exactly what she was going to say.

Olivia pressed her lips together. Elliot knew what he had done, and her telling him he shouldn't have wasn't going to help. She remained silent, thinking about everything that had happened. "This is all my fault." She whispered.

"What?" Elliot asked incredulously. "How is _any_ of this your fault?"

"He's after _me_." Olivia said quietly, staring ahead through the windshield as they drove through the city streets. She had been such a fool. She should have accepted a protective detail. She should have taken herself off the rape case. Instead, she had wanted to act like she was invincible. She had let Elliot put himself at risk by allowing him to be her self-proclaimed protector.

"Olivia." Elliot said with a tone that let her know he thought she was being ridiculous. "It's your fault some lunatic is stalking you?" He shook his head. "You know that's not true."

"Giving me the victim speech now?" Olivia said sarcastically. She let out a sigh. She wasn't angry with him. She was angry with herself. "You could lose everything." She thought about his kids. Their future.

Elliot reached out to place his hand over hers, which were clenched tightly in her lap. "Don't."

Olivia wrenched her hands out from beneath his. She didn't want his comfort right now. She didn't deserve it.

"Damn it Olivia. This is _not_ your fault." Elliot snapped at her.

"If I would have excused myself from the case, then it would have been you and Fin, or you at Munch, at the crime scene. Then there wouldn't have been anyone shooting at me, you wouldn't have put yourself in the line of fire, and you wouldn't have felt the need to go after the suspect."

"That's ridiculous." Elliot said. He felt like a broken record.

Olivia wasn't really listening to him. She was too focused on what was going to happen to Elliot. "IAB is going to be involved."

Elliot sighed heavily. He was way ahead of her…a result of his late-night insomnia. "I know."

"They're going to want to know why you broke protocol…what made you go after that guy." She knew the reason why…and if she'd had any doubts, Elliot had cleared them up last night.

Elliot knew what she was saying. "I know."

"What are you going to say?" Olivia asked.

"I'm going to tell them that you're my partner! It's my job to have your back."

Olivia was quiet. IAB wasn't going to accept that. There had been too many rumors about them…she felt like they were under a microscope. It wouldn't be hard for them to read between the lines. In some ways, she knew they were lucky that they hadn't been separated before now. There has certainly been threats of it over the years.

Elliot reached over and snagged her hand. This time, she didn't resist. "It's going to be OK." He gave her a small smile.

"Do you really believe that?" Olivia asked, skepticism in her voice.

He didn't answer her. Because he didn't.

IAB was the least of his concern. If they broke them up, it would be fine. They had been on borrowed time anyway, and he wanted to be with Olivia...to take things to the next step. They couldn't be partners anyway. But losing his job and his pension…his freedom…could be a possibility. He already had so many marks on his jacket.

"We'll just take it as it comes." He said as he pulled into the precinct parking lot.

EOEOEOEO

"He's not a cop."

It was the first thing Cragen said when they sat down in his office. Olivia looked over at Elliot and then back at Cragen. "What?"

"The man who shot at you. He's not a cop." Cragen picked up a file and opened it up. "Name's Theodore Noonan. Known as Ox. Career criminal. Assault, robbery, aggravated assault. Did a two-year stint for involuntary manslaughter. Killed a man in a bar fight."

Elliot furrowed his brow. "This guy sounds like a real winner, but I didn't hear anything that sounded like a sex crime. So, what's his connection to Olivia?"

"They haven't found one." Cragen said.

"So, why is he stalking her and why is he trying to kill her?"

"Well, technically, he didn't try to kill her." Cragen said.

Now, Olivia was really confused. "I was there…"

"He was shooting blanks." Cragen interrupted her.

Elliot stood up, feeling the need to move. "What? This guy is stalking Olivia, then poses as a cop…only to shoot blanks? That doesn't make any sense. What's his motive? His connection?" He paced across the room. "Why shoot at Olivia if he didn't plan on hurting her?"

"Detectives that interviewed him don't think he's your stalker. They think he's a hired gun, so to speak. He's been an enforcer for years for various enterprises. Usually uses his fists…or baseballs bats and the like. You know the type."

"So, someone hired him to what? Scare me?" Olivia asked.

"Looks like it. They're also looking to see if he's the one that may have been in the locker room and/or delivered your lunch." Cragen said. "And remember, just because he didn't shoot you this time doesn't mean he doesn't want to hurt you. He could just be prolonging the torture. He wants you to be waiting…wondering when he's going to strike again."

"But he's doing all of this through someone else." Olivia said.

"Doesn't want to get his hands dirty?" Elliot speculated. "Or knows you'd recognize him?"

Olivia shrugged. I don't know." She looked back at Cragen. "And Ox isn't offering up any information?"

"They're still talking to him. This is all the information I have so far." Cragen said. "They've been giving me updates as they go, but they didn't get to him until a couple of hours ago. He didn't get released from the hospital until 4AM." Cragen shook his head and turned to Elliot. "What the hell were you thinking? A few bruises are one thing, but you broke his nose." He paused a second before proceeding. "IAB is going to be here later this morning. I'm trying to talk to them but…" He shook his head. "I'm doing what I can."

Elliot nodded. "I know." He said with a sigh.

"So, we're just supposed to just wait around here until we get more information from the 2-1 and for IAB to interview us?"

"If Noonan is a hired gun like we think, then that means the real stalker is still out there. I've got a protective detail on the way for you."

"Protective detail?" Olivia said.

"I've got her." Elliot said. "I'm not leaving her side."

Cragen started to speak, but Olivia interrupted him. "No. I'll take the protective detail." She didn't want Elliot putting himself in harm's way for her again.

"Olivia." Elliot objected.

Cragen held up a hand. "It's not a choice. For either of you." He looked at one and then the other. "Fin and Munch are picking up your rape case." His gaze landed on Elliot. "And you're suspended during IAB's investigation, and until we clear up this mess with Noonan."

Neither Elliot or Olivia was surprised. If anything, they were surprised that it hadn't been the first thing out of his mouth when they had arrived.

"Is there anything you need to tell me before you meet with IAB? Anything I need to know?"

Elliot and Olivia carefully avoided looking at each other. Cragen was a good reader of body language, and they knew he was one of the people that thought they were too close. But they weren't going to give up anything. They both shook their heads, almost simultaneously.

"No." Elliot said.

Cragen sighed. "OK." He looked at Olivia. "Go see what you can help Fin and Munch out with that doesn't require you to leave the precinct." He turned to Elliot. "I need your shield and you gun. IAB will be here shortly to interview you."

Elliot reluctantly handed them over, and then they both exited Cragen's office. Fin and Munch were both at their desks and they both looked up at them as them as they walked to their desks.

"I would have done the same thing." Munch said.

"Yeah, right." Fin said.

"I meant if Olivia was my partner." Munch joked and Fin rolled his eyes.

"Not now." Olivia said. She saw Elliot drop into his chair…a hard look on his face. Their fellow detectives must have gotten the message because the jokes stopped and it was quiet.

The quiet was short-lived though.

Ten minutes later, IAB walked into the squad room, with Tucker in the lead.


	8. Chapter 8

Lieutenant Tucker and the other man with him didn't even look at Elliot or Olivia as he strode past them and entered Cragen's office. The moment the door to Cragen's office was closed, Elliot bolted from his seat and moved quickly over to Olivia. He wrapped his hand around her upper arm and practically pulled her out of her seat.

"I need to talk to you in private." He whispered as he pulled her to her feet.

Olivia started to protest, and Elliot shushed her, looking towards Cragen's office. He released her arm, but motioned towards the cribs. Elliot waited until she headed in that direction, and the followed her close behind.

When they were behind closed doors, Olivia turned to face him. "They're going to be looking for us." She said, glancing at the door.

"I know." Elliot said, moving towards her. "I just wanted a minute alone before…" He shook his head. "I don't know what's going to happen, but I realized we made a mistake."

Olivia's heart started racing. Was he going to tell her that he didn't mean what he'd said last night?

"Last night…" Elliot started. "I mean, this morning." He looked over at the door again, and then back at Olivia's face. He saw the wary look on her face and he realized she was thinking the worst. "No." He took a deep breath. "We didn't talk about what happened last night. And we should have."

Olivia still wasn't sure what he was trying to say.

Elliot looked over his shoulder at the door, and then closed the last remaining space between them. He brushed her hair back from her face and unsuccessfully tried to tuck it behind her ear. Olivia flinched slightly at his touch…she wasn't expecting it, and everything they'd learned this morning had made her edgy. He saw her look at the door, and he snagged her hand and led her, wandering through the maze of bunks and behind the lockers.

As soon as they were out of sight, he wrapped his hands around her upper arms and pressed her gently against the lockers. "I don't know what's going to happen but you have to know that I meant what I said last night. I love you." He released her arms, and their bodies were only inches apart. Elliot brushed her hair off her forehead again and stared intently into her eyes again. "You know that, right?"

Olivia let out a shaky breath. "I do." She leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. A few seconds later, Elliot tangled his hand around the back of her neck and he opened her mouth with his. She slid her tongue between his lips and her body shivered slightly as their tongues met. Olivia trailed her arms up around his neck and pulled his body closer to hers. Elliot put his hands on her arms and pulled away, breaking the kiss.

Elliot held her arms in his and whispered her name, his mouth ghosting over hers. "I love you."

"I love you too." Olivia said quietly. It sounded strange on her lips, and she gave him a small smile. It quickly faded as she thought about the pending conversation with IAB. "What are we going to do?"

Elliot knew what she was asking. "We're not going to say anything. About us. We don't need to give them any more ammunition."

"We haven't done anything." Olivia said. She saw the look on his face. "Technically…I mean…a few kisses…" She knew that IAB wouldn't see any difference between a few kisses and sex. They had crossed the line…a line that had been stretched to the limit for years.

"I know. But they're going to push…" He cupped her face in her hands. "We're going to get through all of this bullshit with Noonan, we're going to get the man stalking you, and then we'll figure out what's next."

"What's next." Olivia said. It was a statement, not a question. She hadn't had any time to think about anything beyond this mess they were in. The giddiness she had felt when she found out Elliot felt the same way she did had been short-lived. Overtaken by the drama that was her life…their lives…right now.

"Yes." Elliot kissed her lightly. "I want…" He was interrupted by a knock on the door, followed by Fin calling his name. "Be there in a second." He yelled back. He looked at Olivia and kissed her quickly. "We're going to be okay." He whispered, and then he left to talk to IAB.

EOEOEOEO

Elliot watched as Tucker paced around the room. The other IAB agent, Swenson, was seated across from him with a stoic expression on his face. He knew Tucker was trying to intimidate him, but he knew his games, and forced himself to relax. Finally, Tucker stopped moving around the room and stood across the table from him. He crossed his arms as he widened his stance, and Elliot straightened up as Tucker stared at him. He wanted to tell Tucker to stop playing games, but he knew he had to keep his cool.

"Tell me what happened at the crime scene last night."

Elliot knew Tucker had every detail, but he recited the facts, keeping as much emotion as possible from his voice.

"You left out the part where you cold-cocked a cuffed suspect."

"I didn't knock him out and he isn't a suspect. There's no doubt he shot at my partner."

"Blanks." Tucker said. "He was shooting blanks."

"We had no way of knowing that at the time. I saw someone shooting at my partner, and I acted."

"Running into the line of fire." Tucker said, with disdain in his voice. "Not exactly protocol."

Elliot pressed his lips together, but he didn't say anything. Tucker obviously decided to leave that there, because he shifted gears back to the suspect.

"The police had the suspect in custody, and yet, you decided to go after him. Why?"

Elliot gave a small shrug. He had thought hard about what to say, but he knew nothing was going to sway Tucker from forming in his opinions. "I don't know."

"Lots of comments in your jacket about your anger management issues."

Elliot didn't say anything. Tucker had been after he and Olivia on and off over the years, and the same subjects always came up. He found it was best to let Tucker run though his spiel and try not to let him bait him into reacting.

"What's the nature of your relationship with Detective Benson?"

Elliot looked up sharply. Apparently, Tucker didn't like his lack of reaction, because that question was meant to elicit a response.

"She's my partner." He said, keeping his voice as neutral as possible.

"You've been partners for a long time." Tucker said.

"Yes." Elliot said. He wasn't going to participate in Tucker's fishing expedition.

"Most Detectives don't stay in SVU this long. Or keep the same partner."

Elliot shrugged.

"Partners get close." Tucker narrowed his eyes. "Too close."

Elliot sat up in his chair. "Detective Benson and I are partners. Damn good partners. We work well together and have an incredible close rate. I don't see anyone complaining about that." He looked over at Swenson and then back at Tucker. "I think we're here to talk about what happened at the crime scene yesterday. I told you everything that happened. Do you have any other questions for me?"

Tucker seemed to consider what he'd said, and Elliot knew he was trying to decide if he should push further. He waited him out, trying to keep the annoyed expression off his face.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do." Tucker said. He plucked a manila envelope off the desk and opened the flap. He tipped it over and several photographs fell on to the table. "Any idea why someone sent these photos to me?"

Elliot sifted through the photos…there must have been 20 of them…and saw photos of he and Olivia. At crime scenes. At the precinct. At his apartment. They looked to have been taken over a period of time. He looked up at Tucker. "No. Are these from the person that's stalking Olivia?"

"Gosh, I don't know. They didn't put a return address on the envelope." Tucker said sarcastically.

Elliot ignored his comment. "He's been following her for a long time." He glanced back at the photos. "At least six months." The change in seasons on the photos confirmed that.

"You and Detective Benson seem awfully close in these photos." Tucker plucked one from the pile, and held it up.

Elliot saw Olivia with her back against a brick wall. He had one arm braced on the wall, and was looking down at something in Olivia's hand. His head was bent down, as if maybe he was listening to something she was saying. The first thing he noticed was that they _were_ close…too close…and the photo made it look even worse than it probably was. Personal space had never been for them…since almost Day 1.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Elliot asked. "I'm just looking at her notes."

"OK, how about this one?" Tucker held up another photo, and Elliot saw Olivia standing at his window, and he was standing behind her with his arm around her waist.

"That was…you're taking that out of context." Elliot said. "That was when we already knew someone was stalking her. Cragen knew she was staying at my apartment. Sleeping in the extra room of my apartment. I was simply pulling Detective Benson away from the window." He hated having to explain himself. Them.

Tucker didn't seem to care for Elliot's explanation. He just stared at him as he dropped the photo on top of the others. "So you say."

Elliot stood up. "I'm not going to listen to this." He said. "Are we done here?"

Tucker just stared at him…his typical intimidation tactic. "We're done for now." He looked at Swenson and then back at Elliot. "You're suspended during the investigation…"

"I know." Elliot said. He was losing his patience.

"Don't leave town."

Elliot rolled his eyes and pushed the chair back. "I know the drill." He said. He moved towards the door, but heard Tucker as he reached for the doorknob.

"Send your _partner_ in."

Elliot's anger spiked at the tone…the insinuation…in Tucker's voice. He knew he was being a hypocrite, since he had declared his love for Olivia. But the thought that they had crossed some boundary and had been sleeping together for years…the fact that Tucker was talking about it…about them. He made it sound sordid when it was anything about. He wanted to tell Tucker to fuck off. An image of Olivia popped into his head. He took a deep breath and walked through the door.

EOEOEOEO

Olivia hadn't had a chance to speak to Elliot before she went into the interrogation room, but she could tell he wasn't happy by the look on his face. Not that she expected it to go well.

"Good to see you Detective Benson." Tucker said as he sat across the table from Olivia.

Olivia didn't engage. She wasn't in the mood for fake pleasantries.

"I don't suppose you'd care to tell me about what happened last night." Tucker stated. It wasn't a question.

"I'm pretty sure you already have all the facts." Olivia said.

"Why is it that I get the same attitude from you and your partner?" Tucker asked. He didn't wait for an answer. "I'd like to hear it from you."

Olivia recited the facts from the night before, unknowingly repeating Elliot's version almost verbatim. She also left out the part about Elliot attacking the perp.

"And when your partner went after the suspect?"

"Elliot didn't…" She started to defend him, but she knew that wasn't the right way to go. "We had just been shot at and emotions were high…we'd already been on edge because of the man stalking me." She cringed slightly at the word she'd been avoiding. Stalking implied she was a victim and she didn't like to think of herself that way. She didn't want to give him that power. "We thought that was him and Elliot…" She searched for the right words. "Overreacted slightly."

"Slightly? He broke his nose."

"He didn't mean to." Olivia said, knowing that sounded lame, and that in reality, he probably intended to do much worse.

"I think your partner was out of control. I think he intended to kill that man." Tucker said.

Olivia's eyes met his and she stared at him. He had voiced what she had been thinking, and that creeped her out a little. There was no emotion in his voice and that was somehow worse than if he had yelled it out. "Elliot would never kill anyone." She said defiantly, even though she wasn't sure what lengths he would go to, to protect those he loved.

"Of course, you're going to defend your boyfriend. I mean, _partner_." Tucker said coldly as he stood up. He turned and walked a few paces away from the table before he turned back to face her. "You're not denying it." He said accusatorily.

"I don't see the need to defend such ridiculous statements. You've been listening to rumors Lieutenant Tucker." Olivia said coldly. She leaned forward slightly. "I thought you only like to deal with facts."

Tucker approached the table and braced his arms on the table. He leaned forward slightly, and Olivia knew he was trying to intimidate her. "Rumors start somewhere. Where there's smoke, there's fire."

Olivia narrowed her eyes at him. "If there were any truth to the rumors, then Elliot and I wouldn't be partners any longer."

"There's always been something about you two…just because I haven't caught you all these years doesn't mean your squeaky clean." He pushed himself up so he was standing again. "Doesn't matter. Looks like your luck has been used up. Your partner is in deep shit this time and he's not going to be able to dig himself out."

Olivia leaned back in her chair. "Elliot's a good cop. He's taken dozens…hundreds…of pedophiles, rapists and abusers off the street. We have so many victim statements, thanking him…praising him…for what he's done. It would be ridiculous to cut his career short because of some sort of personal vendetta." She knew Tucker had it in for them. He'd done his damnedest to "catch" them over the years, and sometimes she felt like she had to remind him of all the good they had done.

"Contrary to what you want to believe Detective." Tucker crossed his arms over his chest. "This isn't personal."

"Isn't it?" Olivia said, with a small challenge in her voice. She looked over at Swenson. "You may not know this, but it seems like your Lieutenant here has had a keen interest in my partner and me for years." She looked back at Tucker. "Or maybe just in me." She let that hang there. She didn't really believe that, but she hoped that might throw him off his game.

To his credit, Swenson didn't take the bait and remained silent. Olivia looked back at Tucker and she could see he was trying to figure out what to say in response. She took advantage of his silence and stood up. "Hmmm." She said. "Are we done here?"

"For now." Tucker said.

Olivia walked out of the interrogation room and slammed the door behind her. She walked out to the squad room, and scanned it quickly. Elliot wasn't there. Fin pushed himself up from his chair and walked over to where she was standing.

"Cragen sent him home." He said quietly as he walked by and Olivia nodded her thanks. She headed towards her desk when Cragen walked out of his office.

"Olivia." He said, motioning for her to join him in his office. She closed the door behind her and sat down, shifting nervously as Cragen stared down at some paperwork on his desk. A full minute had passed, and Cragen let out a sigh. He picked up a manila envelope and looked up at Olivia. "Did Tucker talk to you about these photos?"

Olivia's heart dropped when she heard the word photos. "No."

"Hmmm. He showed them to Elliot, so I thought maybe…" He shook his head and handed the envelope over to her. Olivia pulled the photos out and scanned through them quickly.

"These are photos at various crime scenes…" She started, and then she saw the one in front of Elliot's window. "This was…"

Cragen held up a hand. "Elliot explained."

"Where did this come from?" She asked.

"They were dropped off anonymously." Cragen explained.

"I don't get it. Why would someone drop off photos of us at crime scenes? More proof that someone is following me?" It didn't make any sense to her. She already knew someone was following her. The photos proved only that he had been following her for a while.

"I think it's the content…how they look." Cragen said, waiting for her to connect the dots.

Olivia shook her head. "I don't…" She looked at the photos again, spreading them out in front of her. Then it hit her. In every photo, they were crowded together. In some, they were smiling…laughing. They looked…to comfortable…too familiar…intimate. "Captain…" Olivia started.

Cragen shook his head. "I already asked you Olivia and I take your word." He said. "But it's optics. Tucker got a copy too."

"I just don't understand what he gains by sending these." She said. "Is he trying to get me fired? Break up my partnership?" Olivia pushed herself out of her chair and paced a little. "I'm so _sick_ of this."

"Detectives are still sweating him. I hear the DA is going to maybe cut him a deal if he cooperates and tells us who hired him."

Olivia hated to let a street thug get away with firing on cops, but since technically, he hadn't, she was willing to let it slide if it meant an end to this. She needed to understand who was playing these mind games and why. "God, I hope so."

"Until then…"

"I know. Desk duty. Protective detail." Olivia said stoically. She hated having a protective detail but if it meant Elliot wasn't in the line of fire she was OK with it.

"You're staying at a hotel tonight…or for a while." Cragen said. "And you know Elliot's suspended until we get this all figured out. And even then, I don't know what's going to happen."

"I know." Olivia said. And then she turned and left.

As soon as she got back to her desk, she pulled out her phone. She saw she had three text messages from Elliot, asking her to call him as soon as she was done with Tucker. She hit his name on speed dial and he answered on the first ring. "El." She said with relief. "Where are you?"

"Go to your locker." Elliot said.

"What?" Olivia asked, confused by his request.

"Just do it." Elliot said and then hung up the phone.

Olivia stared at the phone, annoyed by the fact that he'd hung up. She headed towards the locker room, and opened her locker. There, on the top shelf, was another cell phone, and she grabbed it with curiosity. It rang almost the moment she had it in her hand, and she answered cautiously. "Hello?"

"Liv. It's me." Elliot said.

"What is this?"

"It's a burner phone." Elliot said.

Olivia let out a sigh. "That's a bit dramatic, don't you think?"

"They can dump our phones. Track our texts." He said. "I want to be able to talk to you without anyone listening in.

"They're not going to…" She stopped. Actually, she wasn't certain about anything anymore. "OK."

"Just keep it out of sight." Elliot said. "Now, tell me about your conversation with Tucker."

They both filled each other in on everything that had happened, including their most recent conversations with Cragen.

"OK. Call me when you get to the hotel tonight and tell me where you are." Elliot didn't like not knowing where she was going to be, and that he wasn't the one protecting her.

Olivia agreed.

"Keep this phone on you." Elliot continued.

"Someone's coming." Olivia said, interrupting him. "I have to go." She whispered. But she thought she heard Elliot tell her that he loved her before the call disconnected.


	9. Chapter 9

_AN: Thanks for hanging in there with this story. I know there are some twists and turns. I've changed the rating to M, so be forewarned. Thanks for the reviews!_

EOEOEOEO

The next few days went by without incident, but Olivia was out of her mind with boredom. She was stuck at her desk while Fin and Munch worked their rape case, and being at her desk without Elliot sitting across from her was ten times worse. Her protective detail, a woman named Armstrong and a man named Rodriguez, was good at their job, meaning she had very few moments to herself. Which meant she'd barely had an opportunity to speak to Elliot, and she definitely hadn't been able to see him.

At this moment, Olivia was sitting at the desk in her hotel room, sorting through files on her old cases. When they had found out how long this man had been following her, they decided to look back a little further on perps that had been released. They had also gone farther back in her case files to look at threats, and took even the most minor threats more seriously than they had before.

She glanced over at Armstrong, who was watching some old movie on the TV. "Could I have a few minutes? I need to make a personal call."

Armstrong glanced at her watch, but Olivia knew she had no right to deny her some privacy. She stood up and moved towards the door. Olivia waited until the door closed behind her, and then pulled the burner cell out of her pocket.

"Liv." Elliot said anxiously when he answered the phone. "I was starting to think I wouldn't hear from you today. How is it going?"

Olivia had already told Elliot about the boredom, but now the entire thing was wearing on her. "El, I can't do this much longer. I want to work. I want my privacy. I want my _life_ back." Olivia knew she was whining but she had had enough. "I'm going to talk to Cragen. This guy hasn't done anything to really hurt me."

"He put you in the hospital."

"But it wasn't anything really harmful." Olivia knew she was rationalizing, but she was just so _done_ with all of this.

"Are you listening to yourself? It doesn't matter what he's done…it's what he's going to do."

"I know that, but you're assuming he's really going to hurt me."

"And you're assuming he's not." Elliot asked.

"I can't stay locked up forever. This is getting ridiculous." She let out a sigh. "Have they gotten anywhere with Noonan?" Olivia knew they were still trying to get him to talk.

"Not that I heard, but I'll try to get an update in the morning. You know I'm not in the loop since I'm still on suspension." Elliot hesitated. They hadn't really talked about anything personal over the past few days, and he cursed the timing of all of this, even though it was what had brought them to this point. But he forged ahead anyway, even though he didn't know how she'd react. "I wish I could be there to keep you company."

Olivia heard a little insinuation in his voice and felt her mind going places it shouldn't. Or maybe she just imagined it?

"Me too." Olivia whispered, looking over at the door. "I miss seeing you every day." She said, surprised at her honesty.

Elliot couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face. He never would have expected Olivia to say something like that…to confess to that. "I want to see you." He said. "I want…" He hesitated a second. Being honest with each other was something new to them. Admitting how they felt was definitely something new.

"I want the same thing you do." Olivia said. She hadn't been able to get those few stolen kisses out of her mind. In the long, lonely hours of boredom, her imagination had taken things a hell of a lot farther. She wanted feel Elliot's body pressed against hers. She wanted to explore the hard planes of his body with her hands and her mouth...she wanted…God, she wanted.

Elliot thought he heard a slight moan from her and in that moment, he lost all rational thought. "Liv."

Olivia heard him say her name in a deep, husky tone she'd never heard before and she felt it in her lower belly. "Can you come to the hotel?"

"What about your detail?"

Olivia was wracking her brain, but she knew there was no way she could sneak Elliot into her hotel room. It wasn't that she couldn't have visitors, but with the suspicions already swirling around, it wouldn't be good for her partner to visit her in her hotel late at night. "Yeah." She signed heavily.

"I think I'll have some updates tomorrow, so maybe I could stop by when you get back to the hotel. Right after work."

"OK." Olivia said. She felt a rush at the thought of it, and she admonished herself for acting like a young girl with a silly crush. She blamed it on the boredom and the insane amount of free time she'd had to think about the change in her relationship with Elliot. "That would be good." She looked at the door, imagining Armstrong was probably losing her patience as she stood in the hall. "I'd better go."

"OK. I'll see you tomorrow. Be safe."

EOEOEOEO

Olivia heard a knock on the hotel room door, and Rodriguez bolted up from his chair with his hand on his gun.

"I think it's my partner." Olivia said as she got up from her own chair.

Rodriguez motioned for her to stay back while he went to the door, and while Olivia appreciated that he was doing his job, she thought he was being a bit dramatic. She watched while he went through the whole deal, getting identification from Elliot and validating it with her. There was a short list of people that were allowed to visit her, and she was at least grateful Cragen had added him to the list.

Elliot nodded at her as he walked in, and it was awkward as the three of them stood there. It seemed Rodriguez had no plans of excusing himself, so Elliot made himself comfortable. "I have an update on Noonan."

Olivia nodded and sat down across from him. She noticed Rodriguez was shifting back and forth on his feet and trying not to listen in. "You know, it would probably be okay if you took a break." She looked back at Elliot and then over at Rodriguez. "My partner is here so I won't be alone."

"I'm not allowed to leave you Detective." He said.

"You're not allowed to leave her alone." Elliot said, as he stood up, straightening up to his full height. He knew he could be intimidating, and he hoped Rodriguez took the hint. "I'm not going to say anything and neither is Detective Benson, and I am more than capable of protecting her if it comes to that." He pulled a gun from his waistband, and he could see that Rodriguez knew he had fucked up by not checking him for a weapon.

Rodriguez still looked uncertain. "Maybe I could go get something for all of us to eat."

"That's a good idea. I'm already sick of the food here at the hotel." She glanced back at Elliot. "My partner is just going to update me on what's going on with the man they arrested and our other cases. We're not going anywhere."

Rodriguez nodded, and Elliot knew they had just reached an accord. He wouldn't tell them about leaving them alone, fueling any further suspicions, and Elliot wouldn't rat him out for his lack of following protocol and missing the weapon.

"I'll be back in 20 minutes." Rodriguez said.

Olivia knew there was less than an hour until Armstrong came on duty, so she understood his urgency. The minute he was gone, an awkward silence settled between them. "So, Noonan."

"Apparently there are some other outstanding warrants on him and he's still trying to negotiate the best deal. The New Jersey D.A. hasn't been very willing to cooperate on the charges they have against him."

"And the charges against you?" Olivia asked.

"So far…they're using it as part of the package deal. If he doesn't want to press charges, the D.A. is willing to let it go, but who knows..." He looked over at Olivia, and noticed she wasn't looking at him. She had sucked her bottom lip in between her teeth and was biting down lightly…and it distracted him from what he was saying.

Olivia looked up at Elliot when he stopped talking. She saw the way he was looking at her and she felt herself starting to blush slightly at the intensity in his eyes. "I hope they figure it out soon. I need to get my life back." She said as she looked away from him.

Elliot stared at her, and he could tell she was waiting for him to say something…or make a move. He'd had a vision of sweeping into the room and pulling her into his arms, but this was so new to them. After almost a decade of working together, they were going to have to learn how to interact in a different way. "Olivia." He saw her turn to face him. "I didn't come here to update you on the case."

Olivia furrowed her brow but she didn't say anything.

"I could have done that on the phone." He saw her nod slightly. "I came here because I need you to tell me…I mean…I know you said you loved me but I need you to tell me what you want."

"What I want?" All sorts of indecent thoughts ran through her mind. She had a particularly delicious thought of Elliot pinning her to the bed with is body.

"Yes, what do you want Olivia? Are you willing to explore this thing between us?"

"You mean, like dating?" Olivia wanted to laugh. They knew each other better than probably a lot of married couples did. "We know each other. Isn't that the point of dating?"

"We don't have to label it." Elliot said in a slightly frustrated tone. "You know what I'm asking."

Olivia pushed herself up out of her chair, feeling bad that he was making an effort to tell her something and she was being difficult. "I know." She said as she crossed over and stood in front of him. She held out her hand. "I know."

Elliot wrapped his hand around hers. "You're always so difficult." He said with a smirk on his face. "So, now you owe me."

"I owe you?" She asked.

"Definitely."

"What do you want?" She loved teasing him. She placed one knee on the couch, next to his outer thigh, and she saw the look of surprise on his face. "Hmmm?" She placed her other knee on the outside of his other thigh, so she was straddling him. She tugged her hand out of his, and placed both of her hands on his shoulders. "Can you tell me what you want?"

Elliot's mind was reeling. Olivia was straddling him on the couch and asking him what he wanted in an unbelievably husky voice and he lost all thought as his body started to react to the sound of her voice and the proximity of her body. He inhaled deeply, and then he was lost. His hand fell to her hips and he pushed her down against him. He wrapped one hand around the back of her head and Olivia didn't offer any resistance as he pulled her towards him. Their mouths met and they kissed each other hungrily. The years of desire had finally caught up with them, and this was so different than the kisses they'd shared so far.

Olivia could feel Elliot's lips bruising hers…he was kissing her hard…possessively. When he opened her mouth with his and thrust his tongue inside her mouth, there was nothing gentle about it. She could feel the white heat in her lower belly and she heard herself moan into his mouth. She was slightly embarrassed a first, but her moan only spurred him on. She felt him run his hands up her sides, and they brushed the side of her breasts. He slid them back down, spreading them against her ribcage. She pulled away slightly and broke the kiss, and she kissed her way down his jaw until she was placing open mouthed kisses on his neck. Olivia pushed her hips down and ground herself against him and she could feel his hard length pressed intimately against her. He groaned and his hands went to her hips, lifting her off him slightly.

"Liv." Elliot rasped. It was a warning…he couldn't handle her grinding against him. He wanted to lift her up and take her to bed. Shimmy those damn jeans off…

Olivia lifted her head slightly and he kissed his way down her neck…across her collarbone…until he was placing hot kisses on the swell of her breasts. He almost couldn't believe this was happening. All those years of wondering what she felt like beneath his hands…what she tasted like.

"Touch me." Olivia rasped into his ear and she ground down against him again.

 _Christ._ Elliot dropped his head back against the couch. He could scarcely believe how things had escalated so quickly. He had hoped just to have the opportunity to kiss her again. "I can't." He felt Olivia stiffen and he lifted his head, holding her in place with his hands on her hips. "I want to. Christ, I want to." He could see confusion and embarrassment on her face and he rushed to explain. "If I do more than kiss you right now, I'm not going to be able to stop."

Olivia didn't hear anything after _I can't_ , and she scrambled off his lap, her embarrassment taking over. She had forgotten who she was dealing with. A good Catholic boy who was talking about _dating_ , and she had just offered herself up to him. She couldn't imagine what he was thinking right now. She put as much space between them as she could, not daring to look over in his direction. "I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking."

Elliot closed the space between them. "Olivia. Stop!" He grabbed her upper arms with his hands and pinned her against the wall. He pressed his hips against her, his erection hard against her hip. "I want you. You don't even know how much." He saw she turned her head so she didn't have to look at him, and it surprised him how vulnerable she seemed. He released his hold on her, and relaxed his stance. Still pressed up against her, but not quite as firmly. "Olivia, look at me."

Olivia refused. She knew he was going to say something to try to ease her embarrassment and she didn't want that right now.

Elliot switched tactics. He moved his mouth close to her ear. "I've thought about this for years Olivia. Years. Make no mistake…I'm going to touch you. Every inch of that luscious body." His voice was low…a deep rumble in her ear and he could feel a slight tremble beneath his hands. "I just can't touch you now because when I do, I won't be able to stop." He placed a kiss on her jawline. "When I make love to you…" He let out a low chuckle. "I'm going to take my time."

Elliot placed his hand on her jaw and turned her face towards his, and then he kissed her, leaving no question about his desire…his intentions. When he broke the kiss, he looked down at her and caught her eyes. "Years Olivia. I was just too stupid to realize…"

Olivia pressed her fingers against his lips. "Let's not waste any more time talking."


	10. Chapter 10

Olivia saw Rodriguez look around the room as he came in carrying two bags of food. "Where's Detective Stabler?" he asked.

"In the bathroom." Olivia said. She hoped Rodriguez wouldn't notice her flushed skin and bruise lips. At least she didn't have the issue Elliot did; he'd excused himself and made a beeline for the bathroom just before Rodriguez got back.

They started eating and Elliot joined them about 15 minutes later. Olivia couldn't keep from smiling and he shot her a dirty look. Once they had eaten, Elliot got ready to go himself. It was awkward to just say goodbye when just a short time before, he'd been so intimately pressed against her.

Once he was gone, Olivia felt restless. Armstrong had relieved Rodriguez about 7, and he hadn't said anything about Elliot when he debriefed her. Once he left, the evening seemed to go on forever. The monotony was finally interrupted by a call from Cragen.

"I wanted to give you an update." Cragen said. "We've been checking out all the men identified in your files. So far, we haven't found anyone that we think is behind this."

Olivia sighed. She had really hoped they'd have at least narrowed it down to a couple of suspects.

"In other news…" Cragen continued. "The DA finally reached an agreement with the New Jersey DA, and they're going to talk to Noonan tomorrow.

"And the charges against Elliot?" Olivia asked.

"I don't know. IAB doesn't want to let it go. And our DA is neutral. They don't need it as a bargaining chip." Cragen said. "Or so they say."

"That's ridiculous." Olivia said.

"I'm still talking to them. I suggested they just suspend him or fine him…not actually charge him with assault and battery. We really won't know until they start talking to Noonan."

"So, they could arrest Elliot as soon as tomorrow?"

"I'm hoping for the best Liv." Cragen said. "Either way, this all ends tomorrow. I want to nail the bastard that's been threatening you and get you back to work."

"And Elliot. Get Elliot and me back to work."

"Yeah." Cragen said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

EOEOEOEO

It was almost 10PM, and Olivia was going to go to bed out of sheer boredom, when she got a text on her phone.

 _Did you hear about Noonan tomorrow?_

Olivia was surprised Elliot was texting her on her regular cell. She had the burner phone tucked in her pocket in the hope that she'd hear from him tonight.

She texted him back. _Cragen called me_.

 _I hope he gives up a name_.

 _I hope they don't press charges against u._

 _Don't worry about me._ Elliot texted _._

 _Of course I'm going to worry. I don't want to lose my partner._

 _You never have to worry about that._

Olivia would have liked to read something into his text, but she didn't know this side of Elliot…yet. She didn't know how to respond though, without giving anything away. This was her standard cell phone. She thought about it for a minute longer, and then she replied.

 _I'm going to hold you to that._ She didn't get a response right away and she wondered what he was thinking right now.

 _I can live with that. Night Liv._

 _Night El._

EOEOEOEOEO

Olivia had been tossing and turning in bed when her phone vibrated, letting her know she had a new text message. She snatched the phone and saw it was a little after 11, and that the text was from Elliot.

 _Sleeping?_

Olivia couldn't resist having a little fun. _Not anymore_.

 _Sorry._

 _It's OK. I lied._ Olivia smiled, imagine the look on his face _._

 _I can't sleep either._

 _Worried about tomorrow?_ Olivia knew the potential fallout had to be nerve-wracking. She wondered if he'd told Kathy.

 _Maybe._

 _It's going to be OK._ She knew she couldn't promise that, but she was hopeful _._

 _Maybe._

 _I wish I could see you. Even if it's just for a few minutes._ It was a risk saying that, but if they were ever questioned, she could blow it off as concern for her partner. With the potential charges he was facing, it would be natural.

 _Me too._

Olivia listened intently for any sound coming from the living room of her suite. She pictured Armstrong sitting on the couch with the TV on low, and she wondered if there was any chance she had fallen asleep. A few seconds later she heard her moving around and she let out a sigh. _Maybe you have an update that can't wait? A photo I need to see_? She had to have some kind of justification for her partner stopping by this late at night.

 _Yes. As a matter of fact, I do_.

Olivia smiled and sat up in bed. She was wearing black leggings and a black cami, and she looked around for something to throw on over it. _OK. Let me know when you'll be here._

 _In the lobby now._

Olivia couldn't stop smiling. He really must have missed her, and it was an odd feeling to attach those thoughts to him. She dug in her bag until she found a soft, gray cardigan and she pulled it on. She shrugged out of her leggings and threw on the pair of jeans she had been wearing earlier. When she opened her bedroom door, she saw Armstrong scramble up from the couch. "Everything okay?" she asked.

Olivia nodded. "Yeah, I just heard from my partner. He has something regarding the case that he needs to show me."

"Now?" Armstrong looked at her watch.

Olivia pressed on. "It's important to our case."

"What's your partner's name?" She asked with a sigh.

Olivia gave her the details and she checked the list of people allowed. A few seconds later, there was a knock on the door. Olivia moved to towards the door, but Armstrong pushed his way in front of her, admonishing her.

"Stay back."

Olivia rolled her eyes, even though Armstrong couldn't see her. Despite that, she hung a few steps back as Armstrong opened the door. Suddenly, the door was pushed open hard, catching Armstrong off balance. Olivia saw her go down, as a man dressed in black charged into the room. Olivia scrambled backwards as her body tried to keep up with what was going on. She reached for her gun, and realized she didn't have it. Seconds later, he had tackled her to the ground, and she saw the taser in his hand. She couldn't react fast enough…and then it was too late.

EOEOEOEOEO

Elliot picked up his phone on the third ring, trying to wake up. "Stabler." He said groggily. He looked at the clock and saw it was after midnight.

"Elliot." Cragen said.

Elliot sat up, every nerve on high alert. "What is it? Is it Olivia?" There wouldn't be any other reason for Cragen to call him this late at night, but he said a quick prayer that it was something else. Anything else.

"He took her." Cragen said in a solemn voice.

"What do you mean he took her?" Elliot yelled into the phone. "What about her detail?"

"They broke into the room and tasered her."

"And Liv?" Elliot asked.

"Armstrong didn't see what happened, but there wasn't a sign of struggle…" His voice trailed off.

"Liv would have fought." Elliot said.

"I'm assuming he incapacitated her somehow." Cragen said. "CSU is there now."

"I'm headed over there." Elliot said.

"No. I want you here." Cragen said. "They're bringing Noonan over now. We can't wait any longer. The ADA and the DA are on their way."

Elliot hesitated. He wanted to see the hotel room…to see spot where Olivia was taken. It was hard to believe that just seven hours ago, she was straddling him on the couch, kissing the hell out of him. So full of life. If someone hurt her…they couldn't run far enough.

Cragen must have sensed his hesitancy. "I need you here Elliot. That's the only way you can help her. If Noonan talks, I need to dig into this case file. Figure out who this man is…where he could have taken her."

Elliot could hear the panic in the older man's voice. He knew he was as worried as the rest of them. If Olivia had been abducted by a rapist…or someone that wanted to kill her…her time would be limited. He shouldn't be wasting time here arguing on the phone. "I'm on my way."

He threw his clothes on and made record time to the precinct. When he got there, he raced upstairs and saw Cragen, Munch and Fin standing with the ADA Greylek. Cragen held up his hands.

"They're not here yet." he said.

"What the hell is taking so long?" Elliot asked.

"They're on their way." Cragen said.

Kim Greylek stepped forward. "Detective Stabler. I'm going to warn you…you stay away from Noonan. You've already inflicted enough damage, and you're already in deep shit. I told the Captain that I didn't want you here." She glanced over at Cragen. "But he insisted."

"Because I know he's not going to make a scene." Cragen said pointedly, looking straight at Elliot. "He's only here so he can help find Olivia."

Elliot nodded, willing himself to keep it together for Olivia's sake.

EOEOEOEOEO

Olivia woke up, disoriented…dizzy. Her head was killing her and she lifted her hand to her head…but was shocked to find herself shackled. She opened her eyes more fully, and saw she was lying on a bed with one arm handcuffed and chained to the metal headboard. She looked and saw one leg chained as well. She felt a moment of panic, but forced herself to calm down. She took a deep breath, trying to maintain her calm as the memory of what happened came flooding back. She closed her eyes…remembering how he straddled her...the shock as he tasered her…how she couldn't move…the dark look in his eyes and the creepy smile on his face…and then…nothing.

Olivia opened her eyes again, and took inventory. She lifted her arms and legs, and propped herself up. She didn't seem to have any injuries. And she was fully clothed…a very good sign. If some rapist had taken her…

Olivia shook her head. _No_. That wasn't going to happen. She wouldn't let it.

She scanned the room, noting the cinder blocks and the furnace. She was in a basement somewhere. There was a single bulb hanging from the ceiling, and cast a weak light around the room. The casement windows were covered in newspaper, blocking everything out. She had no idea if it had been one hour or ten since her abduction…if it was still night or if it was morning.

 _Elliot._

His name popped into her head, and she knew he would be beside himself with worry. _Unless…_

Olivia looked around the room. Maybe her abductor had taken Elliot too. Elliot had been at the hotel. He had texted her that he was on his way up.

But that didn't make any sense…

Olivia heard the door opening, and she saw the same man that had attacked her walk into the room. She moved back on the bed, to the limit of the shackle around her leg, unsure of what he was going to do. He stopped several feet from the bed and just stared at her, and she straightened her shoulders. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of thinking she was scared, even though she was trembling slightly. She had been going to counseling since her incident with Harris, and thought she had handled this stalker thing pretty well up to this point. But now the reality of being held against her will were starting to make it bubble to the surface again.

He cocked his head slightly and continued to stare at her, and Olivia wondered what was going through his head. She couldn't help feeling vulnerable, and she used her free hand to pull the cardigan sweater closed. She kept her arm pressed across her breasts, like some kind of shield.

Olivia stared at her attacker, trying to bring up any memory of him from a past case. But her mind was drawing a blank. She studies his features, committing them to memory. White male, mid-40's, dark hair, green eyes. Clean cut…wearing a pair of jeans and a polo shirt under his black zip-up hoodie. He could be your neighbor…the kind of man you'd never suspect. Which is what always made men like him more dangerous.

"Don't worry Detective." He said. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Olivia remained silent. Famous last words.

"You don't believe me." He stated.

"If that's true, then unshackle me and let me go." She said, knowing it was all a game. But she couldn't keep silent.

The man sat down on the edge of the bed and Olivia tried to move farther back. The chains kept her from doing so, and she strangled a cry of frustration. She wouldn't let him know she was afraid.

"I'm afraid that I'm going to have to arrest you." She said bravely, hoping to throw him off his game. "For assault, kidnapping, unlawful detention…"

The man tipped his head back and laughed…a loud, deep laugh that rumbled around and bounced off the concrete walls.

Olivia didn't know why that unsettled her more than anything. Maybe it was his lack of concern. His confidence that there was no way that he was going to be caught and arrested.

When his laugh had died down, he stood up and before she knew what was happening, he grabbed the chain attached to her leg and gave it a vicious tug, dragging her down the bed slightly. Olivia held up her hands as he leaned over her, ready to fight him, but he kept his distance.

"Dear Detective Benson." He said sweetly, and Olivia could see the craziness in his eyes. "I said I wasn't going to hurt you." He gave her another smile, and it made Olivia sick to her stomach. He stood up and headed towards the door. At the last moment he turned around, and she saw him pull something out of his pocket. It was the burner phone Elliot had given her. He held it up to make sure she could see it.

"I hate to break it to you sweetheart…but it's not you I want."


	11. Chapter 11

_AN: I know this story has taken some twists and turns. I hope you're still enjoying it! Thanks for reading._

EOEOEOEO

"What's taking so long?" Elliot asked as he paced around Cragen's office. He was anxious to get Noonan talking…to get the name of the man that had put all of this in motion.

"Don't know." Cragen said. "Why don't you go see if the guys have found anything? They're checking up on the guys we dug up as potential suspects from Olivia's files."

"I don't need busywork." Elliot said, stopping to stare at Cragen. "I need Noonan here…right now…so we can find this bastard." He shook his head, braced his arms against the desk and let his head drop. "What do you think he's doing to her?" He said quietly.

"You can't think about it or it'll drive you crazy." Cragen said, standing up. "Olivia is strong. She's trained in self-defense."

Elliot straightened up and nodded. "She's a fighter." He had seen her take down guys twice her size. "But maybe he drugged her or…" All kinds of horrible thoughts were running through his head right now.

"Don't." Cragen said.

"I can't help it. After the things we see every day…" Elliot was interrupted by Cragen's phone. Cragen snatched the phone before the end of the first ring and Elliot watched his expression as he listened. When Cragen hung up, he raised his eyebrows in question.

"Noonan's dead."

Elliot thought he must have heard wrong. "What?"

"CO went to get him from his cell and found him dead in his bunk. Someone had slit his throat." Cragen explained.

"He's our only link to Olivia." Elliot said, the volume of his voice escalating as he spoke. "He can't be dead. Did they try to revive him?" He was frantic for it not to be true.

"He was gone." Cragen said. "He'd been dead for at least a couple of hours."

Elliot pounded his fists against Cragen's desk. "What the fuck are we supposed to do now?" He paced back towards the door and then turned to face Cragen again. "Huh? Where do we go from here?" He didn't wait for an answer and turned towards the door.

"Elliot. Where do you think you're going?" Cragen asked.

"To find Olivia." He yelled without stopping.

"Where?" Cragen asked, coming around his desk and following Elliot out of his office. "Running around the city half-cocked isn't going to do any good." He yelled after him.

Elliot stopped near his desk and turned back to face Cragen. He swiped a pile of folders off his desk angrily, and watched as papers tumbled out of the files and fluttered to the ground. "We're going to sit here and look through fucking files and what? Just wait for her body to show up?" He choked out the last few words.

The rest of the squad stopped what they were doing, watching the interaction between them.

"Where are you going to look? Huh?" Cragen asked. "We have CSU at the hotel. At her apartment."

Elliot let out a sound of frustration. "I can't just sit here. She's out there." His arms pointed out towards the windows. "She's counting on me. I'm her _partner_." He scrubbed his hand over his head. "I never should have left her with the protective detail. _I'm_ the one that's supposed to have her back."

Cragen walked towards Elliot, and stopped a few feet away. "This isn't your fault Elliot." He said, calmly. "We're going to find her." He looked over at the rest of the squad. "No one is going to rest until we do. So… let's get an update from CSU, and everyone here that's been working on the case and decide what to do next." He looked around the room. "I'm going to go make a call. Everyone pull their info together and be ready in 5 minutes.

EOEOEOEO

Olivia didn't have a watch or a phone, and she couldn't see outside, so she had no idea how much time had passed. She couldn't get Elliot out of her mind. The kidnapper's words haunted her.

"It's not you I want."

She wondered if her kidnapper had found him…if Elliot was lying dead somewhere right now.

 _No._ That didn't make any sense. He had stalked her. Kidnapped her for a reason.

 _Misdirection?_

Everyone was wasting critical manpower by looking through all their files, looking for threats against _her_. They wouldn't find the kidnapper because they were looking at the wrong men, and that madman was free to go after Elliot. Elliot wouldn't see him coming.

Still. It made no sense…

As Olivia thought about it, she realized she was the bait. Whoever was after Elliot wasn't happy with just shooting him on the street. He wanted him to come after her.

 _Why?_

She couldn't come up with any plausible explanation. That's what happens when you're trying to dissect the thoughts of a crazy person.

Olivia's stomach growled, and she tried to push her hunger and thirst out of her mind. She pulled at the chains in frustration, and looked at them again. There had to be a way to escape, but the chains kept her far enough away from the metal headboard and footrail so she couldn't get a good enough look at them.

Olivia thought she heard a sound and she stopped moving, listening intently. At this point, she really didn't want to see him again. But more worrisome was the thought that he'd never come back and she'd die down here. The thought made her panic for a moment, and she had to force herself to take a deep breath and keep calm. Panicking wouldn't help.

Olivia lay back on the bed and closed her eyes. She tried to replay every minute from when her kidnapper had forced his way into her hotel room until the minute he'd walked out.

 _It's not you I'm after_.

She felt the tears prick the back of her eyes. She thought she'd been doing the right thing…trying to keep Elliot out of harms' way. But it hadn't mattered. She was going to be responsible for Elliot's death.

EOEOEOEO

Cragen walked out of his office after his call, and saw the team assembled, including Elliot. "Just got off the phone with CSU." Cragen started. They've got no fingerprints, no signs of struggle. Just as we were told. The officers on the scene got a brief description from Armstrong. Suspect is white. Middle-aged."

"That's it?" Elliot asked. "A middle-aged white man?" He pushed himself out of his chair. " _Christ._ That's at least a quarter of the men in Manhattan."

"Sit down." Cragen said, but Elliot crossed his arms and widened his stance. His patience was more than stretched to the limit.

Cragen stared at him for a moment but decided not to push it. "Detective Benson's cell phone was recovered at the scene, as well as her gun and badge. They were all in the bedroom." He looked over at Elliot. "According to Armstrong, Detective Benson had been sleeping, but then came out of her room about 11PM. She said her partner was stopping by to show her a photo…"

"What?" Elliot asked, taking a step forward.

Cragen put up a hand, indicating he should stop. "Armstrong went to the door, and even though she had her gun drawn, when she opened the door, the man bashed it in, knocking her backwards. The suspect then tasered her and she want down. She couldn't move and saw the suspect lunge at Detective Benson, who was standing close behind her. Detective Benson was yelling, but a few minutes later, he carried her out of the hotel room. Armstrong called police as soon as she was able. We can see a man carrying Benson out of the hotel on camera, but he's wearing a hoodie and we can't see his face. She appeared to be unconscious or perhaps he tasered her too."

"Captain." Elliot shook his head. "I didn't go to the hotel. Not at 11PM."

"We have Benson's phone. We see the texts between the two of you." Cragen said.

"No. That didn't happen. I didn't text her."

Cragen let out a frustrated sigh. "CSU has the texts." He repeated.

Elliot pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Check my phone." He said. "I swear. I didn't text Olivia."

Cragen looked at him, and then at the phone. "I'll call CSU." He said as he turned and headed back to his office.

Elliot looked down at his phone. Olivia had been kidnapped because she thought he was the one coming to see her. The guilt over what had happened just tripled. Suddenly, he remembered the burner phone he'd given to Olivia. "Captain!" He yelled out, and he strode across the room to where Cragen stopped. "Did CSU find another cell phone at the scene?"

"Another phone?"

Elliot nodded fervently. "Yes. A small black cell phone."

"No, they didn't mention another phone. But I'll have to double-check with them." Cragen looked at Elliot. "Olivia had another cell phone?"

Elliot nodded. "Yeah." He shifted uncomfortably on his feet, knowing what the text messages on that phone would show. But it didn't matter now…nothing mattered except finding Olivia. "I gave it to her."

Cragen furrowed his brow slightly.

Elliot spoke up before Cragen asked the question. "I wanted to be able to communicate without our conversations being…tracked."

Cragen nodded and let out a sigh. "OK." He walked into his office and Elliot followed.

"Captain, we…"

Cragen waved him off. "We'll talk later." He moved behind his desk and turned to face Elliot. "You think Liv has this phone?"

"If they didn't find it, she must. Or else he has it. But either way, maybe we can track it." He pulled his own extra cell phone out of his pocket. "Her phone number is on here."

"It's a burner. The whole point is that they can't be traced."

"Maybe CSU can do something…" Elliot said. He knew it was pointless. He had purposefully picked these phones so he could communicate freely with Olivia. He hadn't planned on needing it for anything else.

Cragen looked at the phone in Elliot's hand. "Maybe our best option is to call her number. See who answers."

EOEOEOEOEO

Olivia woke up, slightly disoriented. She realized that she must have fallen asleep, and she remembered her last thoughts of Elliot, and the tears that followed. Her head hurt, and she realized she was getting really dehydrated. She wondered how long she'd been sleeping…how long she'd been down stuck in this basement.

Olivia scooted up on the bed as far as she could, so she was sitting with her legs stretched out in front of her. She did some stretching…she didn't want to be lethargic if her kidnapper came back. She heard a noise, and she wondered if she was hearing things again. But moments later, she heard a key in the lock and her heart rate soared.

The man walked in, and Olivia saw he had a water bottle in his hand. He closed the door behind him and walked towards the bed. "You must be thirsty." He said as he handed the bottle to her.

Olivia didn't reach for it. She was dying to take it, but she didn't have any idea if he spiked it with anything or not.

"It's not even open." He shook the bottle in his hand. "Look, it's still sealed."

Olivia hesitated a second and then she took the water from him. If it was sealed, then maybe she would drink it. She needed to keep up her strength so that if she got the chance to escape, she would have the energy. She set it on the bed next to her…she didn't want to take her eyes off him.

"You still don't trust me huh?" he asked with a chuckle. "I told you already…" He leaned over slightly. "It's not you that I want." He let his eyes roam down her body and then back up until his eyes met hers. "Although I must say, you're a very beautiful woman." He chuckled again. "A big improvement."

Olivia pulled her cardigan closed again and stared at him icily. She didn't know what he was referring to but she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of engaging in his game. "Who are you?" She asked. "Am I supposed to know you?"

The man shook his head. "No, you don't know me Detective. We've never met." He held out his hand as if to shake it. "Michael McManus."

Olivia ignored his hand and he dropped it. She watched as he walked over to the door and grabbed a metal folding chair. He brought it over and set it up near the bed and sat down, as if they were old friends about to catch up. He fished something out of his pocket and Olivia saw the cell phone Elliot had given her.

"Your boyfriend just called."

"He's not my boyfriend." Olivia said quickly.

"Then who did you know who I was talking about?" He asked with a smile.

Olivia pressed her lips together. This man wasn't stupid. She would have to be more careful.

"There are only texts between you and Detective Stabler on this phone." He still had that stupid smile on his face. "I wonder why you would have a phone with messages from only Detective Stabler?"

Olivia didn't answer, but she didn't really think he was expecting her to reply. It was more like he was talking to himself. She watched as he scrolled through the texts and she wracked her brain trying to remember the contents.

"It's very interesting really." His eyes flicked back up to hers. "Very sweet." He let out a sigh and stared at her for a minute before he continued. "I've been following you, you know." He cocked his head. "It didn't take very long to figure it out."

"We're just partners." Olivia repeated insistently, but her comment only drew another laugh.

"Anyone can see how close you are…if they really _looked_." He shook his head. "I was following Detective Stabler at first, but then I saw." He tapped two fingers on his temple. "I saw how he looked at you…how you were when you were together…and I came up with a _new_ plan." His smile turned into a wide grin. "I think my new plan is better than the original." McManus leaned back on the chair. "I bet Detective Stabler is going out of his mind right now." He held up the phone. "What do you think?"

"I think my entire squad is looking for me right now." Olivia said.

"Hmm." McManus said. "I'm sure they are. But that's not what I asked you now, is it?" He leaned forward, the smile gone. "IS IT?"

Olivia didn't want to risk upsetting him, so she shook her head.

"Good girl." He said. "Now. Like I said, your boyfriend just called. And guess what?"

Olivia didn't respond.

"He left a message." He held out the phone towards her and Olivia reached for it. She realized quickly that it was the wrong thing to do.

"What do you think you're doing?" He yelled. "Do you think I'm an idiot? That I would hand you a fucking cell phone?"

Olivia shook her head. "No." She chastised herself. It was in her best interest to keep him calm. "I made a mistake."

"I went to college." He leaned over towards her. "I went to law school!"

Olivia's ears perked up. He was angry and now he was venting…giving her a glimpse of who he was. She didn't look directly at him, hoping he would keep going, but she heard him take a deep breath. He was obviously trying to calm himself down. She looked up and saw him run his hand over his head.

"OK. OK." He was nodding his head. "Let's hear what your boyfriend had to say."

Olivia watched as he hit the button for voicemail. A second later, she heard Elliot's voice through the tinny microphone.

"Olivia. If you get this message…if you can…call me right away…text me…anything. We're looking for you and we're not going to stop."

There was a momentary pause. "And if you're the son-of-a-bitch that took her…you'd better not lay a finger on her…"

Before the rest of the message could play, the phone rang in his hand. McManus pulled the phone back and looked at it. "Looks like someone's anxious to find you." He said. Olivia noticed the smile had returned. He was enjoying this.

He hit the green button and put the phone to his ear. "Detective Stabler." He said. "Olivia and I were just talking about you."


	12. Chapter 12

_AN: So, so sorry for the delay in getting this updated. I know people want to get to the "good stuff" but this story as to play out. Just a couple more chapter in this story…so this will resolve itself soon. I promise._

 _EOEOEOEOEO_

" _Detective Stabler." He said. "Olivia and I were just talking about you."_

"Who is this?" Elliot demanded. "I swear to God…if you've hurt her…" He was so angry, he didn't even know what to say. Everything Cragen had coached him on went right out of his head the minute the call had connected. He had really hoped it would be Olivia that answered…that somehow the kidnapper had missed the phone and she had it safely hidden somewhere.

 _Wishful thinking._

"Tell me what you want." Elliot said forcefully.

"You think you can call and start making demands?" McManus said. "That's not how this works."

"I want to talk to Olivia." Elliot said, ignoring what McManus had said.

"Detective Stabler. _You_ …are not in charge here." McManus' voice was eerily calm, and Olivia watched as he sat there on the metal chair, acting as if he were passing the time with a friend. Having a normal conversation. "Call me back when you think you can remember that." He ended the call and shoved the phone into his pocket.

Olivia cursed inwardly. She had wasted an opportunity…she should have yelled out McManus name. Given them somewhere to look. She just hadn't expected the call to end so quickly. She wouldn't make that mistake again. If she got the opportunity.

The phone started ringing again, but McManus ignored it. "Someone is impatient." He said, continuing to stare at her. He looked at his watch. "It's almost 4AM. I'm surprised it took him that long to call." He looked at the phone and then back at Olivia. "Patience didn't seem to be one of Detective Stabler's strong suits."

"You know him personally then?" Olivia asked. She was still trying to put the pieces together.

McManus narrowed his eyes at her. "You could say that."

She knew he went to law school, so maybe they had crossed paths somewhere.

"You said you're a lawyer?" She wanted to keep him talking…try to develop a rapport with him. "Is that how you know him?"

"You want to be my friend Olivia?" McManus leaned towards her slightly. "You want to get to know me?" He shook his head. "I see you lying over there, trying to put the pieces together." He leaned back. "Well, don't bother your pretty little head about it." The phone rang again and McManus pulled it out of his pocket. His finger was poised over the button to answer it, but he changed his mind and let the call go. He looked up at Olivia again. "I think we'll make him wait for a while longer. Make sure he learned his lesson."

Olivia could imagine Elliot on the other end of the line…his frustration and anger mounting…his mind running through wild with horrible thoughts. The phone rang again, and she silently willed him to answer it.

"Now, if I answer a call from Stabler, I'd better not hear a peep from you…unless I tell you to say something." He leaned forward in the chair. "I told you that I didn't want to hurt you. But I will."

Olivia stared back at him, considering his words. She had underestimated his intelligence…she didn't want to underestimate his penchant for violence too.

The phone rang again, but McManus kept his focus on her. "Are we clear?"

Olivia didn't answer and she saw him reach behind him. The next thing she knew, McManus was pointing a gun at her. She wondered how she had missed it…the bulge under his sweatshirt.

"I asked you if we're clear!" he yelled, jabbing the gun in her direction.

Olivia nodded slightly, her eyes never leaving the gun. She had no idea what his experience was or how shaky his trigger finger was. The phone had stopped ringing, but she knew it was only moments until it started ringing again. "We're clear."

EOEOEOEO

Elliot was losing his patience, but he knew he had to reel it in. Losing his temper wasn't going to help the situation.

"He'll answer eventually." Cragen said.

Elliot nodded. His jaw was clenched and he was practically shaking from the adrenaline coursing through him. He wasn't in the mood for games. "Maybe. Maybe not. He wanted Olivia, and now he has her. He doesn't need to answer the phone." Elliot didn't know why he answered in the first place.

Cragen nodded. "Yeah, but since he answered it once, I'm betting he'll answer it again. Guy likes playing mind games, and I'm guessing he's not done yet."

"This is so fucking frustrating." Elliot said angrily. "I don't know why we haven't been able to track this guy down…figure out who he is. We've looked at everyone we convicted over the past nine years. Anyone who's been released, whether they threatened Olivia or not. They haven't found anyone that's good for this."

"Call him again."

Cragen said. Elliot looked up at him, sitting across the table from him in the conference table. "I have to tell you that...whatever he wants…whatever he asks for…we're gonna play it his way."

"You know I can't let that happen." Cragen said.

"We're not risking Olivia's life." Elliot said.

"You know I don't want to risk Olivia's life, but any other case…any other kidnapper…we wouldn't let them run the show. We'd negotiate. We'd follow protocol."

Elliot gritted his teeth together. He didn't want to hear about protocol. But he wasn't going to argue right now, because he knew he wouldn't win.

"Let's just wait and see what happens." Cragen said, sensing Elliot's dissention. "Call him."

Elliot hit redial, trying to tamp down his anger. Right now, he needed control. The phone rang a fourth time, and then a fifth. And then, he heard it connect.

"Detective Stabler. You've been very persistent." McManus said in a calm voice. He pointed the gun directly at Olivia's face as he spoke and Olivia flinched, despite her intention not to show any reaction.

Elliot clenched his jaw…biting back his retort.

"Are you done making demands?" He said, his eyes boring into her as he spoke.

Elliot was so surprised that he answered, that he almost blurted out another question. But he caught himself. "Yes."

"Good boy." McManus said. "So, listen to me Detective Stabler. You and I need to talk." McManus sighed. "I've been waiting to talk to you for a long time."

"We're talking now." Said Elliot.

"Always the wise-ass comments with you." McManus snapped into the phone. "Do you want me to hang up the phone?"

"No!" Elliot said, looking at Cragen. He had the volume turned up as loud as possible so he and the others could listen in.

"I really don't mind." McManus said. "In fact, that will give me more quality time with your girlfriend."

Olivia saw him smile at her and it sent a chill down her spine.

McManus continued. "I have to say, she's really quite an improvement over your last partner. Much easier on the eyes…I can see why it would be so easy to fall for her."

Elliot bit his lip. He wasn't going to give McManus the satisfaction of acknowledging his comments. "Olivia is my partner." He said.

McManus laughed…a bitter laugh that echoed through the room. "Are we going to play games Detective Stabler?"

"I thought you liked games." Elliot said before he could stop himself. He had no patience for this kind of banter. He just wanted McManus to tell him what he wanted.

"Touché." McManus said. "I _do_ like to play games. But what you don't seem to understand is that we play by MY rules. Not yours." He said, his tone low and dangerous sounding. "Playing by your rules took over ten years of my life…"

Elliot looked up quickly at Cragen, and started jotting down notes on the paper in front of him.

 _Con. 10 years plus. Rikers? Elmira?_

McManus stopped talking and Olivia could tell her was angry…irritated. She wondered if he was angered by something Elliot said, or with himself for giving up information. McManus had made it sound as if he had been locked away. If McManus had been in prison for ten years, then there was no way Olivia was Elliot's partner when he went away. It must have been Elliot and his former partner that sent him to prison.

The pieces were starting to fall into place. She hoped Elliot had picked up on McManus comments because up to now, they had been looking at threats against her. Cases that she, or she and Elliot, had worked. All that wasted time, looking in all the wrong places.

"Your rules." Elliot said calmly. "So, tell me what they are. Explain the game to me."

"You know what Detective? It's been a busy day." McManus said. "I'm tired." McManus' eyes never left Olivia's. "And I'm done talking to you for now."

"Wait." Elliot said. "When can we talk again?"

"The next time we talk, it's going to be in person." McManus said.

Elliot nodded, even though McManus couldn't see him, and he looked up at Cragen. This was good news.

"When and where?" Elliot asked.

McManus laughed. "You think I'm going to tell you where, so you can line the streets with snipers? I'm not that stupid."

"OK." Elliot said. "But can you tell me when?"

"Not soon enough for you I'm sure." McManus paused. "I imagine all kinds of horrible thoughts are going through you mind right now, aren't they? Me. Alone with your _partner_." His eyes swept over Olivia again.

Olivia saw how much McManus was enjoying this and she knew he wasn't far off the mark. Elliot would be going out of his mind.

"Tomorrow night." McManus said. "That'll give me some time to get to know Olivia a little better. She really is quite tempting."

Elliot gritted his teeth, but he didn't bite.

"Get some rest Detective. And don't worry about Olivia…"

"Let me talk to her." Elliot said desperately. "I just need to know she's okay." For all he knew, the man on the other end of the phone had hurt her…or killed her.

"You still don't understand the rules, do you?" McManus snapped. "You don't get to make demands!" He stood up and moved a little closer to the bed. "Although…I can make her scream. Is that what you want?"

"No!" Elliot said quickly. "No…I'm…please no."

"Tomorrow night." McManus said, and then he ended the call.

Elliot slumped in his seat and scrubbed a hand over his face as he set the phone down on the table.

Cragen chimed in. "I could only hear bits and pieces of the conversation."

Elliot relayed what he could remember.

"So, we've been looking at the wrong suspects." Cragen said.

Elliot picked up the pad of paper. "Yes, he said playing by my rules took away over ten years of his life."

"We know this guy's been stalking Olivia…both of you really…for at least six months, based on the photos."

"Or he had someone else do it." Elliot said.

"Either way, there's no way you and Olivia were partners when this guy went away." Fin said. "We've been looking at perps that Olivia was involved in, but this guy didn't even know her."

"This isn't about Olivia. This is about you." Cragen said.

"Then why take Olivia?" Fin asked. "If his beef is with you, then why not just take you out?"

"Because he wants to make him suffer." Cragen said, and Elliot looked up sharply. "Whoever he is, he feels like he has a score to settle."

Elliot nodded his head slowly as Cragen spoke. "He thinks hurting Olivia will hurt me."

"And he's right." Cragen said. "What about Kathy and the kids? Have you checked in with them?" he asked.

"No. I thought this was about Olivia…" Now Elliot had a whole new set of fears. God, if something happened to one of his kids, or even his ex-wife…

"Call her, and I'll send a squad out there to check in on them." Cragen said.

Elliot nodded. He was pretty sure the man would have said something if he had them too, but who knew. This guy and his mind games. Maybe that was Round 2. If something happened to any of his kids…or even his ex-wife…

Elliot pulled out his cell. He reached Kathy on the first ring. Her voice was panicked and he realized it was 5AM. She had every reason to panic. After she checked on the twins and assured him they were OK, he called Maureen and Kathleen, getting the same reaction. They were all okay, and he told them the police would be there shortly to take them home for the next few days.

When Elliot hung up, he felt exhausted. He couldn't get the image of Olivia with this madman out of his mind, and he wondered what he was doing right now.

 _That'll give me time to get to know Olivia a little bit better._

"What are we supposed to do until tomorrow night?" Elliot asked.

"We're going to start pulling case files from 10-12 years ago. Cases you and Alphonse worked on. See who's been paroled in the past year." Cragen said. He looked around the room. "Get on it. Let's see if we can find this bastard. I don't want to play by his rules anymore."


	13. Chapter 13

AN: Thanks to everyone that's hanging in there with this story. I'm sorry if some feel it's dragging, but it's just how the story has to go. Everything will come together in the next chapter, and we will find out what's going to happen to Elliot and Olivia. For those that are worried about Olivia being raped, please don't. I would never have that happen in one of my stories… Thanks for your comments and reviews!

EOEOEOEO

Olivia looked at McManus as he stood and stuffed the gun in the small of his back and the phone in his pocket. He stood for a moment and just stared at her.

"Stop looking at me like that." he said with a small scowl on his face. His eyebrows were drawn together, as if her fear confused him. "I told you I wasn't going to hurt you."

"You pointed a gun at me." Olivia said, barely able to keep the anger and fear out of her voice. She couldn't read him very well, so she had no idea what was running through his head right now.

"Only to keep you from doing something stupid, and to let you know who's in charge here."

Olivia didn't say anything, and McManus cocked his head slightly as he looked at her. "Are you worried because of the things I said to Stabler?" He asked.

Olivia kept a wary eye on him as he shifted on his feet slightly, but she still didn't say anything. She had no idea what was going to set him off, so she thought it would be best to stay silent. McManus didn't seem to notice that she wasn't responding, and he kept talking as he stared down at her.

"I said those things because I want him to _squirm_." He said, the sound of vehemence in his voice. "Your partner…" McManus gritted his teeth together. The he stabbed a finger in her direction. " _Your_ partner thinks I'm a rapist." McManus extended his arm towards the door. "He told the whole WORLD that I'm a rapist." The volume of his voice was escalating and he was clearly getting agitated.

He took one step closer to the bed and Olivia couldn't help but shrink back slightly. McManus was still a wildcard in her mind, and she needed to be prepared.

McManus leaned over slightly, that same sound in his voice. "I hope he's in agony right now…wondering just what I meant…wondering what I'm doing to you right now." He stood up abruptly, and it was as if all the anger had left him. He had a self-satisfied look on his face, and she knew he was enjoying the hell out of the impact his abduction of her and his words were having on Elliot. "I'm not a rapist." He said simply.

Olivia knew there were cases of innocent people getting convicted, but she also knew that the majority of guilty people claimed to be innocent. She didn't know the facts of McManus' case, and she certainly wasn't going to ask him.

"Do you believe me?"

Olivia realized she had looked away from him, and she lifted her eyes to his again.

"I asked you if you believed me." McManus said. "Or are you just going to take his side?"

Olivia swallowed, knowing there was only one way she could answer that question. "I believe you."

Surprisingly, McManus smiled, and Olivia thought maybe he believed her. "You're not a very good liar Olivia." McManus turned around and grabbed the chair. He talked as he moved it over towards the wall. "Get some rest. Tomorrow's going to be a busy day."

Olivia had only heard McManus' side of the conversation, but with the information he had just provided, she was getting a pretty good idea of what was going on. McManus felt that Elliot had put him away for something he didn't do. He wanted revenge. She still didn't completely understand why he'd come after her when he could have just attacked Elliot outright, but she had a bad feeling. "What's going to happen tomorrow?"

"Payback." McManus said, and then he left the room.

EOEOEOEOEO

Elliot and the other had been poring over case files for several hours when Tucker walked into the squad room. Elliot looked at his watch, and saw it was almost 10AM. He couldn't believe they'd been at it for over 5 hours without turning up a likely suspect, and he was frustrated. And definitely not in the mood for Tucker. He kept his head down, focused on the file, and ignored him.

"What's _he_ doing here?" he asked Cragen, nodding his head in Elliot's direction.

"Digging through case files." Cragen said.

"He's suspended. He's not supposed to be working on anything." Tucker said.

"We're all working to find Detective Benson." Cragen said, annoyance clear in his tone. They were all tired, and worried about Olivia, and Elliot could tell Cragen wasn't going to take any shit from Tucker.

"Noonan's death must have been a setback." Tucker said, sounding cold.

Elliot stood up quickly, and his chair went flying back. "A setback?" He seethed, striding over to where Tucker was standing. He got in his face. "Do you care about anything?" He asked. "This is Olivia we're talking about. Some psychopath has her, and Noonan was our only link. She could be dead…"

Fin wrapped a hand around Elliot's arm and tried to pull him back. "He's not worth it man."

"This is exactly why you're suspended Stabler." Tucker spit out. "You have no self-control."

Elliot wrestled his arm from Fin's grip, but Cragen was there and he inserted himself between the two men. Cragen looked at Elliot. "Walk it off." He kept his focus on Elliot until he saw him take a step back. Fin put a hand on his arm again, and Elliot let himself be led away.

Cragen turned to Tucker. "Noonan had been our best link to Olivia, but he's dead now. So, we're working with the information we have to try to find him. That is why Detective Stabler is here. It also means that Noonan can't be prosecuted for his role in this, and he can't press charges."

"Doesn't mean it didn't happen."

"So, you're not dropping the charges against Detective Stabler?" Cragen asked.

"It's still pending." Tucker said. "And he shouldn't be here."

"The last time I checked, I'm still the Captain and this is my squad room." Cragen said. "Elliot doesn't have his gun or his shield, but I'm not going to stand in the way of him helping find his partner." Cragen stared at Tucker. "Now…get out of my squad room."

EOEOEOEOEO

Olivia startled awake, cursing herself for falling asleep again. She realized it was the sound of the door that had awakened her. She saw McManus come across the room quickly, and she blinked rapidly a couple of times, trying to wake herself up a little more. But McManus didn't stop a few feet from the bed as he usually did…he kept coming towards her. Olivia was too slow to react and was surprised as he climbed on to the bed. The next thing she knew, McManus was on top of her…straddling her body. Olivia let out a yell, and started to struggle against him. But she was constrained by the chains, and McManus grabbed hold of her other arm and pinned it to the bed.

"Get off me!" she yelled, as she tried to buck him off.

"Don't fight me." McManus said as he leaned over her. "Or it'll be worse."

Olivia looked up into his eyes as she shrank back into the mattress. For a moment, Harris flashed before her eyes, and she started to scream…and then she saw McManus other hand come up. In the next few seconds, he had covered her mouth and nose with a rag, and she could smell something funny.

"No…no!" She screamed as she struggled against him. She realized he was trying to knock her out…there was something on the cloth. Olivia closed her mouth and tried not to breath, but she already felt herself fading slightly. She twisted her head to the side and tried to wrench her arm free, but he was too strong and he had all his weight pressed against her. She was struggling to breath, and had no choice but to gasp in a breath. Then…blackness overtook her.

EOEOEOEO

Cragen walked over to where Elliot was sitting at his desk. "When's the last time you had any sleep? Had anything to eat?"

"I'm not tired." Elliot said. He knew he looked like hell, but he couldn't sleep…not while Olivia was still out there.

Cragen moved in a little closer, and talked a little more quietly. "You need a break." He said quietly. "If the man that kidnapped Olivia was telling the truth, then tonight something is going down. I need you to be sharp. Clear-minded. Plus, Tucker is going to be back here around one…" Cragen looked at his watch. "Which is in a few minutes. He wants to talk to me about you, and I think it would be better if you weren't here."

"But Cap'n…" Elliot started to protest, pointing to the records on his computer screen.

"Just a couple of hours." Cragen said. "Try to catch a little sleep, take a shower, eat something."

"But I think we're finally narrowing things down." Elliot said.

"And the other Detectives will keep working. We don't know if we're going to get any information before tonight, but we do know that we're going to hear from him, and that he wants to meet in person. Then we'll know for sure who and what we're dealing with." Cragen said, still keeping his voice low.

Elliot gritted his teeth together, trying to figure out a way to make Cragen let him stay. But before he could say anything else, Cragen spoke up again.

"Do it for Olivia. You owe it to her to be at your best tonight. Because I have a feeling that no matter how this goes down, it isn't going to be easy."

Elliot let out a heavy sigh. He really didn't want to think he could go home and sleep. It felt traitorous somehow. But he was exhausted and his heart was heavy. The thought of losing Olivia after finally telling her how he felt…after finding out she felt the same way…seemed so cruel. He reluctantly agreed and stood up. "Just for a couple of hours." He said. He snatched the phone off his desk. "But I'm taking this with me."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Cragen said. He narrowed his eyes. "But if you get a call, you call me. Understand? Don't go rogue and head off to meet this guy by yourself. Do I make myself clear?"

Elliot nodded.

"I mean it. If I find out you tried to take this guy on by yourself, I _will_ take your gun and shield. Permanently. There's too much at stake here."

Elliot didn't say anything, because he couldn't make any promises. If the kidnapper insisted on meeting him alone, he was pretty sure he'd do it. He gave Cragen a brief nod and then headed out of the squad room.

EOEOEOEO

Olivia started to gain consciousness, but she was in that state between sleeping and waking. Her body felt heavy, and her head hurt and she lay there with her eyes closed as she started to come out of it. She shifted her body and tried to lift a hand to her head, but she couldn't, and her sleep-addled brain couldn't quite figure it out. As she woke a little more, she remembered McManus straddling her, and then reality came screaming back. Olivia kept her eyes closed. She didn't know where McManus was, but if he was there, she wouldn't him to think she was still asleep…knocked out…unconscious. He had drugged her with something for a reason, and she took a quick inventory. She didn't have any pain anywhere except for a pounding headache. She was clothed.

 _I'm not a rapist._

Those words ran through her head, unbidden. Maybe he was…maybe he wasn't. She didn't know. But it didn't seem as if he had touched her.

"I know you're awake Olivia."

Olivia's eyes flew open at the sound of his voice so close to her. She turned her head quickly, and winced at the pain…whatever he had drugged her with had given her one of the worse headaches ever…and she closed her eyes again.

Then something registered…and she opened her eyes slowly. She saw familiar walls…familiar furniture.

 _They were in Elliot's apartment._

"What?" Olivia stuttered out breathlessly as she struggled to sit up. But her mouth was unbelievably dry and she was dizzy. She didn't know if it was from the drug or lack of water, but she felt nauseous and she lay still to try to quell the feeling.

"Home sweet home." McManus said.

"This isn't…" Olivia started to talk, but another wave of nausea threatened and she clamped her mouth shut.

"This isn't your apartment?" McManus finished her thought for her. "I know that. But you've certainly been spending a lot of time here." He said.

Olivia closed her eyes, wondering if Elliot was somewhere in the apartment. She had let herself be taken…she was bait and maybe McManus had lured him here while she was out. Maybe he was in another room. Bound and gagged. _Hurt_. Or worse. She felt tears pricking at the back of her eyes. She wanted to ask McManus, but didn't want to give him the satisfaction.

"I told you that it wasn't you that I want." McManus said. "But I knew the only way I could control Detective Stabler…get him to do what I wanted…was to get a hold of something very valuable to him." Olivia felt him stroke her hair and she shuddered, realizing he was sitting right behind her…just out of her line of vision. "Imagine my surprise when I started checking up on him. He made it so easy."

Now, Olivia was convinced Elliot was somewhere in the apartment, and she wondered what the last part of the game was going to be. She twisted her body, and realized her feet were bound. She looked down and saw the rope, and she lifted her cuffed hands. She was useless in this state. She was dehydrated and probably still had drugs in her system. She was tied up and weak. She felt so powerless and it made her angry, because she had sworn she'd never let anyone make her feel this powerless again.

But if Elliot was dead…

She felt a wave of despair overwhelm her. It was crushing her…stealing her breath. She could feel the sobs deep in her chest, threatening to come up.

Thoughts of Elliot filled her mind, and all else faded away. She could see his blue eyes…the intensity in them as he stared at her. She thought about his strength…his perseverance. His faith in her.

She wouldn't give up. She wouldn't let McManus win.

At this point, she didn't know anything for certain. She had to have faith that everything was going to turn out okay.

If she couldn't latch on to that, she would give in to the despair, and it would kill her.


	14. Chapter 14

AN: Hey there. This chapter kicked my ass. Thanks for your patience. We just have one chapter left! Just FYI, this chapter has some violence, so just a warning. Nothing too serious.

EOEOEOEO

"Why are we here?" Olivia rasped out. She struggled to sit up, and then she felt McManus hands under her arms, pulling her up. McManus released her and moved so he was standing next to the couch and looking at her.

"I bet you're thirsty." He said, holding out a bottle of water.

Olivia nodded. The man had already drugged her…

McManus opened the bottle and placed it in her cuffed hands. Olivia took a long drink, draining over half the bottle.

"Why are we here?" Olivia asked again. "Is this where we're meeting Elliot?" She'd heard McManus' side of the conversation; she'd heard him say they would meet face to face tonight. "Is he here already?"

"Worried that I did something to your boyfriend?" McManus asked with a small smile on his face.

Olivia pressed her lips together, but she didn't answer. She tried to keep those horrible thoughts from resurfacing. "Elliot wouldn't come here alone." Olivia wasn't sure she believed that. If Elliot was told to come alone, and he thought she was in danger, he might. She hoped that for once, he had followed protocol.

"Elliot's going to do wherever I _tell_ him to do." McManus said, the smile fading.

Olivia was actually happy to hear McManus' response. It meant that he hadn't met up with Elliot…that Elliot wasn't lying somewhere in his apartment. She decided to change tactics.

"I'm an NYPD officer." Olivia said. "This isn't about just Elliot anymore. They have people looking for me and the minute you give Elliot this location, they're going to send SWAT…"

McManus crossed his arms over his chest, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Just leave now." Olivia said. She knew there probably wasn't a chance in hell he would just go, but she had to try. "If you go now, no one will ever know that it was you that kidnapped me."

"You're not going to say anything." McManus laughed. "Yeah, right."

"Leave the country…they won't find you." Olivia said. "You can leave me handcuffed here. I'll be stuck here until Elliot decides to come home. You'll have a head start…"

"Stop talking." McManus said, dropping his arms. "I'm not an idiot, and I'm not going anywhere." McManus reached over and snagged his fingers through the handcuffs binding her hands. "You think I'm going to just leave you here?" He lifted her hands by the cuffs, and Olivia winced as they cut into her skin. "Not a chance." He dropped them in her lap. "I'm not stupid enough to tell Detective Stabler to meet me here." He dropped in a chair. "Believe me, I've been thinking about this for a long time."

"Then why are we here?" Olivia asked, confused by what McManus was telling her.

"Because eventually, he'll have to come home." McManus said, as he leaned in towards her.

"But I thought you told him that you were going to meet him tonight?" Olivia asked.

McManus nodded. "I did. And I will call him tonight and send him to a meeting place." McManus reached over and brushed her hair back from her face. "He'll be falling all over himself to get there…to rescue you."

Olivia pulled away, forcing McManus to drop his hand from her hair. He was going to lead the NYPD on a wild goose chase, and there wasn't anything she could do about it. "But we're not going to be there." Olivia said.

McManus smiled at her again. "Nope. We will be here, waiting for him."

Olivia new Elliot and the squad would be frustrated by the setup…it could be days before Elliot came home. "It could be days…"

McManus shrugged. "I don't have anywhere else to be."

EOEOEOEOEO

Elliot left the precinct in a rage. He couldn't believe Cragen made him leave the precinct. But as he drove towards his apartment, he realized that being sent away was probably the best thing that could have happened. He had the cell phone…the only contact with the kidnapper. When he called, Elliot would be alone. Whatever his terms were, Elliot could decide what to do, and no one would know. Despite what Cragen had said, if the man that had Olivia told him to meet him alone, he would. He had an off-duty gun in his apartment, and he would use it if he had to. Damn the consequences.

He tried not to think about what Olivia may be going through. It only fueled his rage, and he had to keep focused if he wanted to take this man down. She was strong…fierce. She could defend herself, but he knew that she'd do whatever it took to protect him. And that's what worried him the most.

EOEOEOEO

Olivia wracked her brain for a plan. She couldn't let Elliot walk into this ambush. The problem was, with her hand and feet bound, the drugs, and being dehydrated, she didn't have much strength. If she launched herself off the couch right now, she didn't think she could take him. And the bigger problem was that she didn't know where the gun was. She hadn't seen it since she'd woken up.

McManus had started pacing around the apartment, and she thought through what she knew, what she'd heard, and what she could do to stop this from happening. She had already tried to appeal to his sense of self-preservation, but he had quickly shut her down. He clearly intended to see this through. She had already decided she couldn't take him physically, and she couldn't think of any way to warn him.

Unless…

McManus would have to call Elliot. He had warned her before…threatened to hurt her if she said anything. And she imagined he would again. But if she could give Elliot a heads up…keep him from walking into this confrontation…it would be worth whatever punishment he meted out.

Or…maybe she could figure out a way to gain his trust…distract him…knock him off his game. If he would untie her legs, or better yet, uncuff her hands…maybe she could get the gun. He had to have it on him.

"I have to use the bathroom." She said, looking up at McManus. He had been peering out the window and he looked at her with a question in his eyes.

"I don't think so." He said.

"I need to use the bathroom and I want something to eat." Olivia said more insistently. She swung her legs off the couch, closing her eyes momentarily when a wave of dizziness hit her. The click of the gun made her eyes fly open.

"You don't get to make demands." McManus said, and Olivia saw the gun cocked, but pointed at the ceiling.

Olivia steeled herself, and pushed herself off the couch until she was standing. She was only four feet away from him. Nerves slid up her spine, but she forced a smile on her face. "I've been thinking about everything you said." She said, in a soft, low voice. She shuffled forward as best as she could; luckily the way he had tied her feet allowed her some movement. "About how Detective Stabler railroaded you…" McManus watched as she moved a little closer to him. "He gets like that. He's convinced someone's guilty and he lets his anger and rage take over…"

McManus narrowed his eyes and she hesitated.

"You seem like a good man." She said. "Things don't have to end like this." She could hear the desperation in her own voice, and she hoped he would take it as concern for him. "If you take on the NYPD, you're going to lose."

"You're my friend now?" McManus asked. "You going to try to convince me that you're on my side?" He gave her a nasty smile, and slid his eyes up and down her body. "Or are you going to try to seduce me? Get me to take off those handcuffs…untie your legs…by offering yourself up to me?"

Olivia swallowed hard. She had already underestimated him once…he wasn't an idiot, and she should have known he would see through her attempt to befriend him. Her headache was killing her, and she was definitely off her game.

"Maybe I'll take you up on your offer." McManus said, and Olivia stumbled backwards as he moved quickly towards her. He grabbed her cuffed hands with one hand and grabbed the back of her head with the other, still holding the gun, and kept her from falling. His face loomed over hers and Olivia's breath caught…but then he released her. She fell, and she was unable to catch herself. Her ass hit the floor and she caught her elbow on the edge of the coffee table and she let out a yell as pain ripped through her arm. McManus was back and he grabbed her hair, pulling her head back so she was forced to look at him. "Don't try any shit like that again. You hear me?" He tugged at her hair again, and Olivia winced.

McManus released her then, and Olivia watched as he walked away from her. He ran a hand over his head, and she could tell he was agitated. She berated herself internally…she'd done more damage than good, and now he was angrier than he'd been the entire time she'd been his captive. _What the hell was she doing?_ She was normally quick on her feet, three steps ahead…a master of reading people. But she wasn't thinking clearly.

Olivia watched as McManus paced back and forth across the room. She tried to think of what she could say to calm him down, but then she heard a sound at the door. It took her a second to realize it was the sound of keys, and in those seconds, McManus was on her. He wrapped one hand around her arm and pulled her roughly to her feet, shushing her as he pulled her against his body and put the gun to her right temple.

Elliot opened the door, and heard someone yell his name.

 _Olivia._

He saw them then. A strange man with his left arm wrapped around Olivia's upper body, and a gun in his right. It was pressed against her right temple.

Elliot froze.

"Welcome home Detective Stabler." McManus said coldly. "Close the door."

Elliot did as he was told, and he took the next few seconds to assess the situation. There was a moment of recognition…he thought maybe he knew him. But his focus shifted quickly to the gun, and then to Olivia. His eyes connected with hers, and he could see fear. He didn't know if it was for herself, or for him, and he tried to give her a look of reassurance.

"Put your hands up." McManus said, "and turn around in a circle. Slowly."

Elliot followed instructions, knowing he was looking for a weapon. When he had turned around completely, McManus had him turn out his pockets and lift his pants legs. When he seemed satisfied, he tossed Elliot a pair of handcuffs, and told him to lock one around his right wrist.

Elliot hesitated. If he was cuffed, it was game over.

Olivia gasped slightly as McManus dug the gun into her skin.

"Do it, or we can end this right here." He said.

Olivia watched Elliot clamp one cuff around his right wrist.

"You're in charge." Elliot said, his eyes never leaving them. He was trying to assess how Olivia was doing, but he couldn't get a good read on her. The man ignored his question.

"Walk towards us…slowly." McManus said, and Elliot started moving from the foyer towards the living room.

"Stop!" McManus said when Elliot had reached the end of the couch…approximately 12 feet from where he stood with Olivia. "I'm going to have Olivia cuff your other hand, but remember…I've got the gun pointed right at her head. If you try anything, I'll kill her. I swear." He pulled his arm tighter against Olivia and she gritted her teeth. "Cuff him tightly." He said into her ear.

McManus released her then, and Olivia stood up straight, trying to balance. Her mind was racing, trying to think of what she should do. If she cuffed Elliot, she didn't see a way out of this mess.

"Move." McManus said, sensing her hesitancy. He shoved her forward and she stumbled slightly, but she caught herself on the coffee table. Olivia straightened up and moved towards Elliot slowly, looking at Elliot…pleading with him silently to tell her what to do.

Elliot could see the question in her face, and he knew she was having the same thoughts he was. But with the gun pointed at her head, he didn't see any options. She was going to have to cuff him, and he was going to have to figure something out.

"I'm sorry." Olivia mouthed to Elliot. She wasn't only apologizing for what was about to happen, but also for getting kidnapped, for waiting so long to tell him that she loved him, for the years they had wasted, and for the things they weren't going to have. He gave her an almost imperceptible nod and she dropped her gaze to his hands as she got close to him. She felt a measure of comfort in his presence, and she breathed in deeply, wanting to press herself against the wall of his body.

Olivia took Elliot's cuffed hand in hers and Elliot lifted his free hand. He covered hers and squeezed gently. "You OK?" He whispered, as she attached the cuff. "Did he hurt you?"

"I'm fine." She whispered back.

"Step back." McManus said urgently, but Olivia held Elliot's gaze. She didn't want to leave him. Ever since the moment she'd woken up chained to a strange bed, she'd been thinking about how this was going to play out. And none of the endings was good. This may be the last time he touched her…

He wondered what would happen if he pushed Olivia aside and rushed him. The gun was pointed right at him. Would he get a shot off? Or two?

"Step back!" McManus said sharply, and Elliot released her hands.

"It's going to be OK." Elliot whispered, pasting a fake smile on his face. He wanted to tell her that he loved her…he wanted to tell her so many things…but he didn't want to give this man any more leverage.

"I love you." Olivia mouthed as she started moving backwards awkwardly towards her captor, and she could feel tears prick at the back of her eyes. She swallowed hard, pushing her emotions down deep. If they were going to get out of this mess, she had to be clear headed. She felt McManus wrap his hand around her bicep and tug her backwards. He pulled her down into the chair he had been sitting in, and then she felt the cold metal of the gun against her skin again.

"Sit down." McManus directed, pointing at the oversized chair to Elliot's left.

Elliot did as he was told, focused on the man with the gun. He was trying to wrack his brain…he knew him. "I need you to tell me what this is about." He said, trying to give himself some time.

McManus was standing behind Olivia, and Elliot watched as he ran his left hand under her chin and up her jawline…slowly…deliberately. "You want to know what this is about Detective Stabler?" he asked with a small taunt in his voice. He continued running his hand along her skin, and Elliot could see the look of revulsion on Olivia's face. "This is about loss…" he hissed, snapping Olivia's head back.

Elliot flinched, but caught himself before he said anything.

McManus held Olivia's head back against his body, and Olivia could feel his fingers digging into her skin. "You ruined my life…and now, I want _you_ to know what it feels like when _everything_ is taken from you."

Elliot scrutinized his face, trying to jog his memory…trying to tie his words to a memory. He had discarded several names trying to remember how he knew this man. McDonald…McMahon… "Andrew McManus." Elliot said as the name popped into his head. "McManus." He tried to remember the details…

"Give the man a gold medal." McManus said. "It must be hard to remember…with all the perverts and rapists you've sent away."

Elliot clenched his jaw. He knew this case had been almost 11 years ago…before Olivia. He hated that she was involved in this mess, and his eyes dropped down to hers. McManus had lessened the pressure on her jaw, and she was able to look at him.

"Except that _I_ wasn't one of them." McManus spit out. "I'm _not_ a rapist."

McManus proclamations jarred his memory. "You raped a 17-year-old girl." Elliot said.

"I did _NOT_ rape that girl." McManus insisted.

"She said you did."

McManus was shaking his head. "No!" He pointed the gun at Elliot. "No! I didn't. I may have been guilty of poor judgement, but I _didn't_ rape her." He was shaking with rage. Everything that had been bottled up was spilling out now. All his anger, rage and frustration. He brought the gun back to Olivia's head, scraping the skin on her temple with the barrel. "But you wouldn't _listen_. You twisted my words…made up lies."

Elliot knew there was no arguing with him…it would only make him angrier. He could see the fear and the pain on Olivia's face. McManus was shaking as adrenaline coursed through his body, and Elliot focused his attention on his trigger finger. He looked back up at McManus. "Let's just calm down." He said, lifting his cuffed hands from his lap. "Can we just talk?"

" _Now_ , you want to talk?" McManus snorted. "You weren't interested in talking before."

"I made a mistake." Elliot said. He was going to say whatever it took to get them out of this situation.

McManus laughed. "It's too late." He said. He was shaking his head again and his face was red…flushed. "You labeled me a rapist…you told the whole world I was." McManus narrowed his eyes. "I lost everything. My wife…my kids…my job." He spit out. "My entire reputation. They disbarred me." He let out a sound of frustration…a strangled cry. "My mother couldn't even look at me. My own _mother_." There was pain in his voice.

"I'm sorry." Elliot said. "I wish that I could change things…"

"But you can't." McManus cut him off. "And here we are." The smug smile returned. "I thought about you a lot while I sat in that cell." His voice was still full of emotion…pain. "I suffered…it was absolute _hell_ …and the only way I made it through was to think about you…and about how I was going to make you pay for what you did to me." McManus ran his hand back into Olivia's hair and tugged her head back again. "So, tell me, how does it feel? How does it feel to lose your job? To lose what was left of your reputation? To be labeled as an uncontrollable maniac that can't control his anger? To be facing charges?" He laughed. "You're going to prison. You're going to lose your job and your pension."

Elliot watched a slow smile cross his face, and with the look in his eyes, it made him look even more crazed.

"And right now, you're thinking, it'll be okay. At least I'll have the love of my life…"

Elliot flinched as McManus grabbed Olivia's arm and pulled her roughly to her feet. He wrapped his left arm around her waist and pulled her flush up against his body. He moved his mouth near her left ear. "But guess what?" He whispered in Olivia's ear…loud enough for Elliot to hear. McManus lifted his head and looked back at Elliot. "I'm taking that from you too."

Elliot lunged out of the chair. "No!"

McManus swung the gun towards Elliot, and panic filled Olivia. She'd been watching this drama play out…listened to McManus and Elliot…trying to understand how they got here and hoping that somehow, miraculously…this would be resolved. That McManus wouldn't carry this through to what seemed like its' inevitable end…that they would dodge a bullet…literally…once again. But when she saw McManus point the gun at Elliot, she let out a cry.

Elliot saw the gun pointed at him and he heard McManus yell for him to stop. He had no intention of listening to him, but he froze when McManus swung the gun back to Olivia's head.

"Say goodbye." McManus said, staring directly into Elliot's eyes.

Elliot's heart dropped and he was filled with terror. He heard Olivia scream and the next thing he knew, the gun had gone off. He saw McManus fly backward, taking Olivia with him, and blood flew. He couldn't stop his momentum, and he hit the floor right next to them.

"Olivia…" He gasped out as he crawled over to where they were lying. "Olivia." He sobbed.

Elliot pushed himself up on his knees and dragged Olivia's body towards him as best as he could with his cuffed hands and then she was grasping at his shirt, crying and calling his name. He was in a state of shock…she was talking to him…she was alive. He pulled her away from his body, looking down at her. He saw blood and skin and brain matter in her hair, and he looked over at McManus. Half of his face was gone…he was obviously dead. Elliot lifted his cuffed hands over her head, and pulled her tightly against his body. She was sobbing and he tried to soothe her. "He's dead. It's over." He repeated those words a couple of times, and then he heard sirens in the background. Someone had heard the gunshot and he was thankful because he didn't think he could move right now.

He thought he had lost her, and the shock of it was overwhelming him right now. "You're OK." Elliot said. He could see blood on his arm, and he didn't know if it was hers or McManus', but he couldn't let her go right now. He sat with Olivia pressed tightly against him, and he rocked them both, saying a silent prayer of thanks, and vowing to never let her go.


	15. Chapter 15

AN: Thanks for hanging in there with this story. This next chapter may be a little sappy, but anyone that knows me knows that I'm a sucker for a happy ending with these two. I'd love to hear your comments, and thanks for reading!

EOEOEOEO

The next few minutes were chaos. Elliot remembered hearing the commotion outside the door. He remembered calling for help. He remembered ESU storming in the apartment, and how he folded his body over Olivia's to protect her from the craziness around them.

He heard people talking around him. He heard someone say that McManus was dead...that they had the gun…that the site was secure. He heard it all, but it wasn't registering. He was focused on Olivia…the way she still clung tightly to his shirt…her deep gasps…her warm blood on his arm.

And then someone was grasping his hands…lifting his bound arms over her head…and he looked up at the uniforms that had a hold of him.

"Detective, are you hurt?" One of the men asked as lifted his hands away from Olivia.

Elliot furrowed his brows, trying to focus. "What?"

"Are you hurt?" the uniformed officer asked him.

"No." Elliot shook his head. He looked over and saw paramedics entering the apartment, with Cragen right behind them. He felt an officer pulling Olivia away from him and he turned back. He saw her then…the damage that had been done. Her head and shoulders were covered in blood and gore, and he couldn't tell the source of the blood. He prayed that most of it was McManus'.

"What the hell happened here?" Cragen asked.

Elliot didn't even look at him. He watched as the paramedics lifted Olivia onto the stretcher and then a uniform was unlocking the handcuffs around her hands while another was cutting the rope that bound her ankles. He was startled when Cragen leaned over him, and then he realized Cragen was unlocking his own cuffs.

"Elliot." Cragen said again, a little more forcefully. "I need you to tell me what happened."

Elliot kept staring at Olivia, watching the paramedics as they took her vitals and looked her over, checking for wounds. "I don't know…he was…they were here…" He felt Cragen's hand on his shoulder.

"Take a deep breath." Cragen said. He motioned to one of the uniforms. "Have one of the EMT's come over here."

"No." Elliot said, pushing himself slowly to his feet. "I'm fine."

"You could be injured. Or in shock. You need to be checked out." Cragen said.

"Let them take care of Olivia." Elliot whispered…fear coursing through him. He didn't know why, but he was rooted in place. He should be over there with her…he should be holding her hands and telling her that everything was going to be okay. But there was so much blood…

"Elliot." Cragen put his hand on Elliot's arm.

"Is she…was she…" He couldn't even say the word _shot_. He couldn't bear the thought of it. But the reality was that he didn't know what had happened. He had been rushing towards them. He'd had his eye on the gun…he thought he'd had his eye on the gun…but then in an instant, McManus and Olivia had been falling backward. He'd heard the gunshot but he didn't see what happened.

Cragen released his arm and Elliot watched him walk over to where the paramedics were working on Olivia. He saw them talking, but there was just a roar in his head. _This is about loss_.

If he lost Olivia now, he didn't know how he would go on. The thought of it practically brought him to his knees…and he bent over, placing his hands on his upper thighs. If Olivia died, it was because of him.

 _This is about loss._

He couldn't get McManus' words out of his head.

"Elliot."

He looked up and saw Cragen standing in front of him. He was blocking his view of Olivia, and Elliot straightened up so he could see her. Elliot stood and watched the medics, but he didn't say a word. Didn't ask the questions he needed to ask. If he didn't ask, he wouldn't have to hear any answers he didn't want to hear.

"The gun went off by her ear." Cragen said. "It grazed her skull and the sound burst her eardrum, but most of the blood and…the rest belonged to the dead man."

Elliot felt all his breath leave his body and he leaned over again, trying to suck some air into his lungs. "She's going to be OK?" He choked out.

"They won't know the full extent of her injuries until they examine her at the hospital, but that seems to be the worst of it." Cragen said. "She's asking for you."

Elliot stood up and cursed himself for leaving her lying alone while he dealt with his own guilt. He rushed over to gurney just as they lifted it up, getting ready to roll it out of the apartment. "Olivia." He said breathlessly and he saw her eyes connect with his. She had an oxygen mask over her face, and he could that her eyes were glassy and her skin was pale. "I'm sorry." He said as he took her hand in his. "I'm so sorry."

The EMT pushed him back. "I'm sorry sir, but we have to go."

Elliot was about to tell him that he was coming along, when he heard Cragen at his shoulder. "You have to stay here. We need to know what happened."

"But…"

"You can go to the hospital as soon as we're done here." Cragen said.

Elliot turned as they wheeled Olivia's gurney out through the door, and he moved towards the door. He didn't really give a shit what Cragen said right now. But before he could follow them out, he saw Tucker walk into the room. And he knew he wasn't going anywhere right now.

EOEOEOEOEO

Elliot recited the details of what had happened multiple times, fielding questions from Cragen, Tucker, Fin and Munch and a Detective from the local precinct. He had to produce the burner cell to convince them that this meeting hadn't been planned, but it proved it hadn't been. Tucker was still skeptical, thinking it unlikely that McManus would just wait it out in his apartment…but after Elliot repeated the story multiple times, the pieces fit.

"I remember that case." Cragen said. "He proclaimed his innocence to the end."

Elliot had been thinking about what McManus had said as he recited the story to the group, and more and more details came back as he spoke. "I remember now."

"He was guilty Elliot. We had the evidence for that case, and two other rapes we couldn't charge him for." Cragen said.

"But he was so adamant." Elliot said, second guessing what had really happened.

"A jury convicted him."

Elliot looked up at Cragen. "Then why? Why did he do this?"

 _This is about loss._

"He wanted revenge." Munch said. "In his mind, he hadn't done anything wrong. You took away his freedom…"

"We may never really know." Cragen interrupted. Now wasn't the time for guesswork. "But you did your job Elliot. You have to believe that."

"I don't know what to believe anymore." Elliot said, dropping his head between his shoulders.

Cragen turned to Tucker. "Are we done here? I assume you'll clear Detective Stabler and give him back his shield?"

Tucker seemed annoyed, and he stood up with a grunt. "Pending results and final interviews." He said.

"Keep my fucking badge." Elliot said. "I don't even want it anymore."

Tucker let out a snort and walked out of the apartment. Cragen was about to say something when the other Detective from the local precinct walked over. Elliot looked up at him as he started to speak. "CSU found gunshot residue on the dead man's right hand. It appears the bullet entered his skull directly behind his right eye and exited out the other side. He probably died instantly." He looked down at a small notebook in his hand. "The hospital reports no GSR on Detective Benson's hands, but we still need to interview her."

"So, did McManus change his mind? Commit suicide? Or did he just miss?" Fin asked.

"I don't know." Elliot said. "He had the gun to Olivia's head…" He shook his head. "I don't know." It had happened so quickly. He wasn't sure if Olivia had knocked into him, or if McManus had moved the gun at the last minute…

They all watched as the coroner started to bag up the body.

Cragen let out a heavy sigh. "We may never know."

EOEOEOEOEO

When Elliot got to the ER, he found Olivia in one of the private exam rooms. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, and a nurse was standing in front of her. She was wearing a pair of hospital scrubs, her hair was wet, and the nurse was removing the IV from her hand. She hadn't noticed Elliot standing by the doorway, and he heard the nurse telling her that she should stay overnight for observation. Elliot thought maybe the nurse was right. Olivia still looked pale, and exhaustion lined her features.

"I want to go home." Olivia said.

"Maybe you should listen to her." Elliot said as he walked into the hospital room.

"Elliot." Olivia said, and he could hear the sound of relief in her voice. "You're OK."

Elliot nodded as he stood in front of her. He turned to the nurse. "Can we have a minute?"

The nurse grabbed her things off the bed and left the room, closing the door behind her. The moment she was gone, Elliot took a step closer, so that Olivia's knees were knocking into his thighs. He wanted to wrap his arms around her, but he held back. He didn't know the extent of her injuries.

"Are you? OK I mean?" Elliot asked, looking back and forth between her eyes.

"The bullet just grazed me…" She turned her head slightly and lifted her hair, and Elliot saw an ugly, red wound on the back of her head, closed with stitches. They had shaved her hair there, but his gaze dropped from the wound to some cotton stuffed in her ear. He remembered them saying that the gunshot had burst her eardrum.

Olivia turned her head back to face him and she saw the pained expression on his face. "It doesn't hurt." They had numbed her head and she knew when the meds wore off, it was probably going to hurt like hell. But Elliot didn't need to know that.

Elliot brushed her damp hair away from her face and then trailed his hand down to her cheek. "This is all my fault. I'm so sorry."

Olivia lifted her hand, trapping his against her cheek. "Don't."

"He could have killed you." Elliot whispered. "I thought…when the gun went off…" He almost couldn't say the words. He still didn't know how McManus had missed.

"But he didn't." Olivia whispered back, and she gave his hand a squeeze. "It's over. We're fine."

Elliot nodded slightly as he trailed his free hand down her other cheek. "It's over." He said quietly. Then he leaned over and pressed his lips softly against hers…so thankful that he'd been given another chance.

EOEOEOEOEO

Elliot and Olivia had been staying at Olivia's apartment since the incident. Elliot's apartment was still a crime scene. Neither one of them had been back to the precinct…each taking some of their long overdue vacation. It had been five days since Elliot had wrapped himself around Olivia as she slept in her hospital bed, and he hadn't wanted to leave her side.

They spent their time sleeping…making up for the hours of sleep they had missed over the past ten years. And they spent their time talking. They'd been through so much… hundreds of cases…a multitude of victims…too many close calls…and it was all coming out. They spoke about things they'd never _really_ talked about before…and for the first time in their years together, they didn't hold anything back.

Olivia felt closer to Elliot than she could have imagined, and she knew he felt the same way. It was liberating…and it didn't even surprise her when they both talked about quitting…about leaving it all behind and starting fresh. Maybe it was just a dream…maybe it would become reality. Right now, she didn't know and that was OK. Time would tell.

Even though they had both needed the time together, they were getting a little stir-crazy. Olivia had a check-up later this morning; she was getting the stitches out of her head. Olivia was happy they had a reason to leave. She was happy about that for obvious reasons…but also because up until now, Elliot had refused to touch her. She had argued that she felt fine, but beyond a few kisses…and maybe a few heated make-out sessions…he always pulled back. She kept telling herself that it was sweet. But mostly she cursed him and his overprotective nature.

She watched as Elliot pulled a t-shirt over his head, and she let her eyes wander over his chest as the material stretched against his muscled frame. He caught her watching him and gave her a small smile.

Elliot knew exactly what she was thinking, and he wondered if she thought this had been easy for him. He had to keep reminding himself that she was hurt. There had been a few times, especially when she had her body pressed up against his, her tongue in his mouth, and her hands trailing over his erection, when he had wanted to give in to his physical need for her. But if he was going to be allowed to make love to her, he wanted to make sure she was 100%. Because as much as he'd like to explore her body…as he'd promised her not that long ago…he doubted his ability to keep control…to take things slowly. And the way she was eyeing him right now, he didn't think she wanted him to.

EOEOEOEO

"I told you I was fine." Olivia said as they walked into her apartment. She tossed her apartment keys on the side table and kicked off her shoes.

" _Now_ you are. After five days of rest." Elliot said.

Olivia turned to face him. "You always think you know what's best for me." She said. "You're so stubborn." She bit back a small smile. Elliot would never change, and she didn't expect him to.

"Pot or kettle." Elliot said, smirking at her.

Olivia rolled her eyes at him. "I'm going to take a shower." She said. "I haven't been able to really wash my hair all week." She headed towards her bedroom.

"I'll make us some lunch." Elliot said as he watched her go. His eyes lingered on her retreating form, and he debated following her into the bedroom. He closed his eyes and looked away. _Christ._ They'd just come from the doctor's. He wasn't going to attack her ten minutes later. He had better control than that.

Barely.

He let out a heavy sigh and started trying to put something together for lunch. He heard the shower running a few minutes later, as he put together small salads and some sandwiches. He heard the water turn off and he quickly tried to finish up. He reached into the refrigerator to get some bottles of water when he heard Olivia say his name.

Elliot turned and saw Olivia standing in the doorway of her bedroom, and he almost dropped both bottles. Olivia was standing there in a silky white nightgown and he struggled to breath as he took in the sight of her. The nightgown was such a contrast to her dark skin…and his eyes wandered over her body as she stood there with one crooked arm braced on the doorway above her head. The nightgown had thin straps leading down to a deep V, barely covering half her full breasts. The hemline danced dangerously high on her thighs, and he found himself wondering if she was wearing any panties underneath.

"I don't have much of an appetite." Olivia said, and she gave him her best seductive smile. She was done with waiting, and if Elliot was going to make a move, then she was going to. "For lunch." She let her eyes slide down his body as she ran her tongue across her lower lip, and she smiled when she saw Elliot toss the bottles of water in the sink. He moved towards her, pulling his t-shirt over his head and dropping it on the floor as he closed the space between them.

Elliot's desire was a tangible thing…coursing through his body…and all rational thought left his head. He had dreamed about this…but _Jesus_ …seeing her standing there with those dark eyes and that pouty mouth...was almost more than he could handle. This was another side of Olivia he'd only had a glimpse of, and she was sex personified.

When he reached her, Olivia dropped her arm and turned slightly, so the door was at her back. Elliot braced one arm on either side of her, and looked directly in her eyes. Then he let his eyes wander down, appreciating the view of her breasts that this vantage point provided. "Christ Liv." He rasped out, and then he tangled one hand in her damp hair and pressed his mouth against hers. She opened her mouth to him immediately and he turned his head and deepened the kiss. All the waiting…all the wanting…was poured out as he kissed her hungrily…possessively. He groaned as she slid her tongue into his mouth and his pulled her head back slightly as he pressed her body against the door with his.

Olivia could feel Elliot's desire, and she was glad he wasn't holding back. She wanted to feel his strength. She didn't want him to be gentle…to treat her like she could break as he had been over the past several days. Elliot groaned as she ran her nails down his back, and she dug her fingers into the waistband of his jeans, pulling him more tightly against her body. She arched her back slightly…she wanted to feel his hands on her…but he kept kissing her with one hand braced against the door and the other in her hair. She raked her nails up his back as she pushed her hips against him, and broke the kiss. But Elliot didn't stop. He dropped his mouth to her neck, sucking and biting lightly on the sensitive skin and Olivia felt a pang in her lower belly. God, she was already so wet. She had been thinking about Elliot as she had soaped her body in the shower, and had practically gotten herself off at the thought of his mouth and hands on her. "Touch me." She gasped.

Elliot lifted his mouth from her skin and took a step back. Olivia was breathing hard and her skin was flushed, and he watched her mouth as she repeated her request. Two words that made him hard as granite. He almost lost control at that moment…it would be so easy to do with this seductress standing in front of him. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to regain a modicum of control, and when he opened his eyes, he saw the woman he had loved. She stood there and looked at him expectantly and he took her hand in his. As much as he wanted her, he wasn't going to fuck her against the door. He wanted the softness of a bed…a place to explore her body and make love to her as she deserved.

Olivia followed him into the bedroom, surprised by his sudden change in demeanor. When he had kissed her in the doorway, she had gotten a taste of the more animalistic side of him…giving in to his desires. But his face had changed, and she wasn't quite sure what to expect now. He sat down on the edge of the bed, his fingers still intertwined with hers, and she stood in front of him. The tops of her thighs made incidental contact with his knees, and he spread them slightly, tugging her gently until she was standing between them. He released her hand and placed both hands on her hips. Elliot kept them there for a few moments, and then looked up at her. Olivia just stared back into his eyes…she wasn't sure what was going through his mind right now but she sensed he needed this moment.

Elliot ran his thumbs back and forth along the silky material at Olivia's waist. This moment was slightly overwhelming. This was the first woman he'd made love to since his ex-wife, and meant an important change in his relationship with Olivia. He didn't take it lightly…and he hoped she knew what this was to him…what this meant. He looked up at her again and saw her watching him. "I love you Olivia." He said softly, and he saw her smile. A small smile that told him everything he needed to know.

Olivia trailed the fingers of her right hand down his cheek and across his mouth. "I love you." She whispered back and then she let her hand drop. Elliot ran his hands down her hips, over the silk of her nightgown, until he hit bare skin. He continued down the side of her thighs, and then reversed, sliding them upwards, taking the nightgown with it. She watched as he dropped his eyes to his hands, but then he dropped the material and rested his hands on her hips again. Olivia swallowed as he slid them on to her arms, and goosebumps broke out across her body as he slid them softly up to her shoulders. His fingers toyed with the straps of her nightgown and she shivered as she watched his eyes trailing over the swell of her breasts. When he started to slide the thin straps over her shoulders, she felt butterflies in her stomach and she realized she was nervous. She was confident in her body, even though her body had changed over the years, but the realization that this was Elliot was hitting her now. She wanted this…had wanted this…for so long but the reality of it was nothing like she could have anticipated.

Elliot heard her breath hitch and he dropped his hands from her body. He looked up at her, a question in his eyes. Olivia's lips were parted slightly and her eyes were large, and he realized she was just as nervous as he was. She'd gone from temptress to mere mortal. A woman in love…the love of his life. "Is this still okay?" he asked softly. He saw her nod, almost imperceptibly, and she gave him a small nod. Then he watched as she reached up and finished what he had started. As she pulled the straps down, the gown fell to the floor, and Olivia took a half step back.

 _Sweet Jesus._

Elliot swallowed hard as he took her in. Her breasts were magnificent, full and round, and larger than he'd imagined. He wanted to feel the weight of them in his hands, wrap his mouth around her dark, peaked nipples. He trailed his eyes down to her stomach and then kept going. His question was answered. She wasn't wearing any panties, and he saw a dark patch at the apex of her thighs. His eyes wandered down her thighs…down those impossibly long legs and he let out a small sound as he moved back up her body. His eyes finally met hers and he swallowed hard again. "You're so beautiful." He whispered, almost reverently, and he saw her blush slightly and look away.

Olivia felt like a young girl. She'd had sex with plenty of men in her life, but the way Elliot was looking at her made her feel like this was the first time. She knew she was being ridiculous…

Olivia gasped as she felt Elliot's hands at her waist and then his mouth on her stomach. He was kissing her softly, trailing kisses along her stomach as his hands slid softly down to her hips. He pulled her body closer and kept moving his mouth upwards with his hands, and she held her breath in anticipation. She closed her eyes and dropped her head back, letting out a small moan, and then she felt his hands on her breasts.

Elliot grasped her breasts softly, filling his hands as he let out a breath…a moan. He ran his thumbs over her nipples, and he felt her body's reaction as more goosebumps broke out across her skin. He took her left breast and moved his mouth over it, teasing her with his tongue before he took it in his mouth. He hummed against her skin and he felt his dick twitch as she moaned again. A deep, throaty sound that hit him squarely in the groin. His erection was painful trapped inside of his jeans, and he had to get them off. He pulled his mouth from Olivia's breast and moved his hands back to her hips. He saw her eyes fly open, but he moved quickly, turning her until she had no option but to fall back on the bed.

Olivia hit the bed, surprised by the sudden change, but welcoming it. She moved back along the bed, centering herself across as best she could, and she smiled as she saw Elliot going for his belt. This foreplay had been wonderful, but agonizing, and the ache between her legs was unrelenting. She was so wet…so turned on. But she was ready for this slow pace to ratchet up a bit.

Elliot was unbuttoning his jeans now, his eyes intent on hers, and he saw her eyes widen slightly as he unzipped them and freed his erection. He saw her bite down on her bottom lip and give him an appreciative look. He knew he was well endowed…his erection long and thick…but he would take it slow with her, until he filled her completely. He felt his cock twitch in anticipation and he climbed up on the bed.

Elliot covered her body with hers, pushing her knees apart with his as he settled himself between her legs. He grasped her lips with his, and kissed her hungrily. Olivia wrapped her arms around his neck and lifted her hips slightly, feeling the tip of his erection slide between her wet folds and her body jolted at the contact. She pulled his body more tightly against hers, feeling the solid wall of his chest pressed against her sensitive breasts, and she let out another moan as their tongues tangled together. Olivia slid her hands down his arms as he braced himself against the bed, and she marveled again at his strength. His body had changed over the years too, but he had only gotten harder…sexier. She placed her hands on his hips and lifted hers slightly, trying to situate him at her entrance, but Elliot pulled his mouth from hers.

"It's not going to be that easy Olivia." He teased. "I'm not done with you yet." He dropped his mouth to her neck. "I want to taste every inch of you. Kiss every curve."

Olivia let out a sound of frustration and she pushed her body upwards, taking him by surprise. His arms buckled and he fell to the side so that he didn't crush her with his weight. In a second, Olivia was moving up and over him, brushing his erection with her thigh as she straddled him. He let out a groan as she lowered her body to his, sliding along his erection. He could feel how wet she was…her heat…and he almost tossed her back over on the bed and took her right then. But she lifted her hips slightly, removing contact between them, and he felt her mouth on his chest. Now she was the one working her way down his body with her mouth and her tongue.

Olivia ran her hands over his chest…his abs…and her mouth and tongue followed. This man was hard all over, and she could feel his hard length pressed against her belly as she worked her way down his body. She lifted her body slightly as she moved farther down, and he gasped as she took his length in her hand. She wrapped her long fingers around him, and looked up to see him watching her. "I always imagined that swagger came from somewhere." She said with a small laugh, and she felt his muscles tense as she lowered her mouth towards him.

"Liv." He rasped. He reached for her shoulders but she knocked his arm away.

"You said you wanted to taste me, well…ladies first." She heard him groan again, and for a moment, she wondered if his prudish wife had ever had him in her mouth. _Ex-wife_.

 _He's mine now_. That thought ran through her head as she smoothed her mouth over the tip of his cock and she could feel him working hard not to lift his hips up and thrust into her mouth. She slid her mouth down his length, taking in as much as she could before she slid her lips back up his length. He was thick and hard as a rock and she took him a little deeper in her mouth as she slid down again. She cupped his balls as she continued sliding up and down the length of him and he was letting out a string of curse words as she sucked his hard length.

Elliot looked down and saw her looking up at him through her dark eyelashes. The seductress was back, and the sight of his cock in her mouth was threatening to send him over the edge. "Christ." He yelled and this time, her grabbed both of her arms and pulled her off him. He didn't want this to end like this; he didn't want to cum in her mouth.

Olivia didn't seem phased by the change in direction. She just gave him a sultry smile and went back to placing kisses on his abdomen, working her way up his body. When she had her mouth poised over his, she gave him another small smile. "You taste good." She said, and then she pressed her mouth against his and slid her tongue into his mouth. Elliot kissed her back feverishly, but a few minutes later, he lifted his body and pushed her onto her back. Olivia clutched at his shoulders, trying to pull him back to her, but he gave her a devilish grin as he slid down her body.

"You said something about taking turns." Elliot slid down Olivia's body, placing gentle kisses on her lower abdomen as he spread her legs with his body. He could feel her body quivering in anticipation, and he teased her slightly with small kisses on her inner thigh. He looked up and saw her hands clenching the sheets, and her eyes on him, and he gave her another small smirk. "You want me to stop?"

"You stop now and I'll kill you." She threatened playfully and she lay her head back on the bed and closed her eyes. She could feel Elliot's hot breath at her core, and she braced herself…wanting to feel his mouth against her, but not knowing if she'd be able to take it. Then she felt his tongue at her entrance, and she let out a long, guttural moan as he flattened his tongue and licked his way up her sex…sliding between her folds and hitting her clit. His tongue was heat and friction and she lifted her hips off the bed, wanting more. She felt Elliot's hand on her hip, holding her in place as he continued to lick and tease her. Then she felt his fingers teasing her entrance and she knew she was going to cum...the heat was building in her lower belly. Elliot slid a finger inside of her…then two…and it was only seconds before her orgasm tore through her. She let out a small yell, followed by a long string of loud moans, as he continued to work her body. She was writhing beneath him…gasping at the sensations coursing through her body and she just wanted him inside of her. Now.

Elliot watched Olivia as she came, and he couldn't wait any longer. He climbed up the length of her body, pushing her legs farther apart with his hips as he went. He braced his arms near her head, and looked down at her. She was breathing hard…still trying to recover…and her body jolted as his erection made contact with her sensitive core. "You ready for me?" he asked in a throaty voice.

"Yes." Olivia said, arching her back slightly. "I want you."

"What about…"

"It's fine." Olivia said. "I want to feel you." She had never let any man have sex with her without a condom, even though she took her birth control pills religiously. But this was different…this was Elliot. "Unless you…" Maybe he had questions.

"No." Elliot said quickly. He leaned down and captured her lips with his. He broke the kiss and looked down into her eyes. "I love you." And then he pressed himself inside her slowly…gently. He could feel her body adjusting to the intrusion and he waited a moment before he pushed himself farther inside. They were both moaning simultaneously and he could feel her walls gripping him as he moved more deeply inside of her. "Christ Liv." He muttered as he dropped his head against hers.

Olivia widened her legs a little more and lifted her hips and he slid impossibly deeper. It was as if he was made especially for her…he was hitting her in all the right places and she couldn't stop the moans that were tumbling from her lips. He started to move then, pulling himself almost all the way out before he drove back inside of her. He set up a slow rhythm at first, and the pleasure coursing through her body was almost unbearable. She felt tears trickling down the side of her face, and she hadn't even realized she was crying. _Why was she crying?_

Elliot reached down and pulled Olivia's leg out and up, and he increased the pace. He thought he could spend hours fucking into her like this…over and over…he would never be able to get enough of her. His moans were tangled up with hers and it was hard to tell where one began and the other ended. Olivia raked her nails up his back and he cried out in pain, but then she ran her hands up soothing the sting.

"Don't stop." She moaned as she clutched at the bedsheets. The heat was building in her slowly…Elliot was knocking her clit with each thrust and the room was filled with their moans and the sound of their bodies connecting. Elliot was making her his…and she was glad to succumb.

"No way I'm stopping." Elliot didn't know how much longer he was going to be able to hold out. He increased his pace, pistoning his hips, and their bodies were slick with sweat. He looked down at Olivia, and she had her eyes closed and her mouth open. Her breasts were bobbing with each thrust and the sight of her was so damned erotic. "Let go." He said. He lowered himself on one elbow, and used his other hand to reach for her clit. He touched the hard nub and Olivia's eyes flew open as she gasped.

"I…I…" White, hot heat tore through her and her body convulsed around Elliot's. She heard him swear, and then she could feel his own orgasm take hold as he emptied himself inside of her. Her muscles were tight, almost threatening to push him out, and she wrapped her legs around him as he buried his head in her chest. He grunted as he spilled his last seed, and he collapsed slightly on her shoulder. He was murmuring something against her skin, but she couldn't understand him. But at that moment, she couldn't find an ounce of energy to even ask him. They both lie there, still intimately connected, trying to catch their breath. Neither one of them moving…or saying anything.

When Elliot had caught his breath, and regained an ounce of energy, he lifted his body off hers. He knew he must be crushing her. He brushed her hair from her eyes and looked down into her eyes. "You OK?" he asked. He had tried to be gentle. "I didn't hurt you…"

"God no. Does it seem like you hurt me?" Olivia asked. She saw the expression of genuine concern on his face and she took mercy on him. She reached up and cupped his cheek. "I would have stopped you…I would have said something. OK?"

Elliot nodded. He placed a gentle kiss on her lips and then looked back down into her eyes. "You promise?" He could see the mild look of annoyance on her face, so he lightened things up a bit. "Because you're insanely sexy, and sometimes, I might get carried away." He placed a kiss between her breasts.

Olivia pushed her hips up against him. "Who says you're going to get another chance?" She teased.

"I do." Elliot said with a grin. "You won't be able to resist my boyish charm."

Olivia saw the twinkle in his eye, and she knew he was right. The minute he had kissed her, she'd been his. But she couldn't resist continuing to tease him and she rolled her eyes. "I don't know. I was never really interested in a missionary man…"

Elliot leaned down and nipped at her lips. "It seems like it worked out ok for you."

"Yeah, this time." Olivia said with a small smile.

Elliot pushed his hips against hers and Olivia grunted as he moved inside of her. "Don't worry. I'm full of surprises, and you will not be bored." Every fantasy he'd ever had was playing in his mind right now, and he was eager to try each and every one.

"Promise?" she asked, folding her arms around his neck.

"Promise."

EOEOEOEOEO

Elliot woke up slowly, and it took almost a full minute to realize where he was. He was lying naked, in bed, with Olivia. He was curled up against her back and he could feel his erection against her ass. He wondered if there would ever be a time he wasn't hard for her now. He ran his hand down the bare skin of her hip and she mumbled something in her sleep. He placed a gentle kiss on her shoulder. "Liv." He whispered, and she mumbled something unintelligible again. He pressed his hips into her, and a few seconds later, he felt her push her ass against his erection. Elliot slid his hand down her hip and her outer thigh, and then she did it again. He heard a small moan as he slid his hand down the back of her thigh, and she brought her legs up towards her chest, giving him access to her. He slid his fingers between her legs, and could feel the wetness there from their previous lovemaking. He grabbed his cock and lined it up with her entrance, lifting her leg slightly. He slid inside of her effortlessly, and Olivia moaned as he filled her.

Olivia could feel Elliot fuck into her gently…slowly. At this angle, he was deeper inside of her than she thought possible, and she could only moan, unable to form words. She wondered if life could be like this now…long afternoons in bed making love…long talks between them…truths being told. They had both been too scared to be honest with each other for a long time, but this latest incident had taught them both that sometimes you had to grab the chances life gave you. They had thrown away too many….it had been a wake-up call. Could this be their chance? Their dreams come true?

She felt Elliot kiss her shoulder again. "I love you." He said. And she thought that maybe it could be.

The End


End file.
